


Strong Enough To Break

by evr



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Intercrural Sex, Lio is cold but I'm going somewhere with this I promise, M/M, Oral Sex, Prostate Massage, Sharing a Bed, We need a Heris Redemption Arc and I am here to provide. Kind of., more tags will be added as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:28:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 32,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26198617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evr/pseuds/evr
Summary: Day-by-day, finding a place in the world.Day-by-day, falling in love, learning the jealousy and frustrations that come with it.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 107
Kudos: 156





	1. Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> I blame Taki and Meren for this most of all. "Hey how about experienced Galo with virgin Lio" yeah okay I'm on it.
> 
> Anyway, expect weekly updates for a while.

For the first time in his life, Galo started a fire. Nothing like what he'd expected.

Leading up to it, there had been a series of awful events: almost dying, almost losing, seeing someone newly important to him start to physically crumble to nothing. Hearing someone who'd been important to him for years speak with such cruelty. It was almost as though it was a contender for worst day of his life, but he wasn't that negative of a person - the day his parents died and the week Kray had locked him up were pretty awful, but he'd look back on _this_ day as the day he started a fire and saved the world from the brink of destruction (and from Kray's monstrous ego). It was the day he joined with Lio and piloted the coolest robot ever, and the day that they would start to build their new world.

And he could've sworn it was the day his heart skipped a beat when Lio smiled and called him an idiot. That was a curious reaction.

(But it would be planted in his memory forever, the way Lio's eyes lit up like burning in the sunrise.)

He couldn't stand to go home and sleep after such an ordeal, adrenaline still firing him up as intensely as it had been when he fought Kray's mech - and the dread of going home to an empty apartment, if it was still standing, was haunting him.

So he and Lio worked side-by-side, yanking open doors to the pods and freeing burnish for hours. The ones that could still stand usually stayed to help them, and Galo found that socializing with them about little, unimportant things was a great distraction. He especially liked asking them about their 'boss'. The stories were amazing, and Lio was a hero, even if every time Galo glanced at him when he heard something else incredible about him he was bright red and scowling.

The hours wore on, and the burnish in the pods were less and less likely to be responsive, having gone so long without food or water, bound in a single position for so long that their limbs ached (if they were even still attached, he noted; some had indeed been burned away by the Parnassus). And over time, both his and Lio's mood soured significantly, but they kept working.

Galo couldn't go home yet. Even when Ignis relayed a message from rescue workers in other parts of the city that his block was relatively untouched, he didn't want to be there, alone in the quiet.

He'd rather have Lio's quiet, driven company, and keep saving as many people as possible until his arms felt like jelly.

See, nights were difficult.

He didn't want to think about it, but in the silence he had fleeting moments of sinking, of worry that he'd be trapped in his small apartment later, alone.

He didn't spend nights alone, if he could help it. Often, he did have a solution.

One of the first things Galo learned about being a firefighter was that firefighting stories got you _laid_. No, that was never an aim of his, but it wasn't as though he'd never accepted rewards for his heroics either. He'd wanted to be a hero, just like _his_ hero, and if people were impressed enough to invite him to bed, well, he must be doing something right. That was the logic of his tired brain, of his empty bed.

The trouble was, it didn't feel so heroic in the morning, when his partner would wake up hurriedly and rush out the door with a "it's been fun, let's do this again." None of them were eager to stick around, have breakfast, talk about future plans - and that was fine! Galo didn't _need_ to date anyone, though he liked having a companion. So long as there was some pillow talk, he was pleased enough.

And on the nights his bed felt too empty, darkness closed in from all corners as his eyes fell shut, nightmares plagued him and woke him at odd hours, making him miserably tired the following day. So… Even if it wasn't ideal, he wanted to have a partner with him at night.

Someday he'd have a partner in the daylight as well, but he wasn't in much of a hurry.

His routine was normal, he thought. Go to work, go out with friends, socialize at a sports bar maybe. By the end of the night there would be a woman leaning on his arm, breasts strategically pressed against his skin, and an unabashed invitation on her lips. Even if there was nothing special about her in his eyes, if she seemed nice enough, or praised him and got his attention, he'd offer to show her home. They were never conquests to him, he asked to be friends more often than not. A few would keep coming around if he kept asking. He liked them, even if he wasn't romantically interested.

Occasionally, men would approach him too, and Galo thought he might prefer that. But anything was better than an empty bed.

Nights were about to get worse. When he'd slept on the floor of that empty cell he'd had nothing but unpleasant dreams, all feeling too deeply personal to talk out with anyone (at least most of the time, it was just the fire that killed his family; well-publicized information anyone would know about, things an empathetic person who wanted to get into his pants would coo over. "Oh, you poor thing," they'd say, a hand on his shoulder and another hand squeezing his thigh invitingly). His face hurt every morning as though Kray had punched him all over again, but really it was from sleeping on a hard metal floor.

After this whole ordeal, he began to wonder as he thought about the grand, colorful dragon's tears streaming by, if Lio Fotia was perhaps a kindred spirit, someone else just as haunted. If not before, he probably was now; he couldn't possibly fathom the pain the man had felt bound in that engine, being suddenly ripped apart and burned to dried, flakey pieces. It would contribute to Galo's nightmares from just a secondhand perspective. He knew that, and he worried for Lio's mental health.

Night crept up on them, and neither stopped working until Aina showed up and shoved a pill bottle into Galo's hands.

"It's a sleep aid," She told him, frowning. "Give some to Lio, too. You two look like shit."

He heard Lio make a disapproving sound behind him.

"I think we're okay for now," Galo tried to smile at her and hand it back, and she pinched his nose and tugged his face down to her level.

"Look here, Rookie. You and your new little friend have been working _non-stop_ for twenty-nine hours, _not_ counting the whole robot fight. Not okay. Get some sleep and then come back."

"But--"

"No buts!" She demanded, shoving his face away again.

There was so much more to do; they'd freed _most_ of the burnish, but the crash meant that some pods were inaccessible without moving debris out of the way, and the people inside were probably starving and tired too. He had no excuse to stop if he really wanted to help. When he tried to argue again, she glared.

"Lucia's got a new suit to help move the crap out of the way, okay? As soon as it gets here, we'll have all the rest of the burnish out within the hour. I swear it."

"Well," Lio hadn't stopped working, and was trying to lift half of a heavy girder from in front of one of the pods, "Within the hour of it arriving, I guess I'll find time to rest."

Aina shot Galo an unimpressed look. "He's worse than you are."

Galo shrugged and moved to help him so he didn't hurt himself. Something he'd noticed throughout the day was that Lio's strength was more than halved without his fire, and he kept overestimating his own ability because of it.

Aina, who was a good person, also helped them move it. It fell to the floor with an extremely loud thud once it was far enough to open the door to the pod, and Lio jumped over it to rip at the handle as soon as he could. He'd been going at it all day with exactly that level of urgency.

The burnish inside (well, ex-burnish now, Galo supposed) fell into Lio's arms, completely unconscious and disfigured. One arm was missing at the elbow, and both of their feet were gone. Lio cringed and held them tightly, as though it could give the unconscious person comfort.

"I've got this one," Aina said gently, lifting them into her arms and frowning down at Lio. "Seriously. We can keep up your work, but you need at least some rest or you'll be worse than useless to these people."

"You're not in charge of me," Lio snipped at her without any venom, and Galo almost felt like laughing because of how tired he was. That was the bite of a man who knew he'd lose, but wanted to fight anyway.

He tried to pat Lio's shoulder reassuringly, but the second he made contact he flinched. "Lio? You're shivering… Shit, you're so cold, why didn't you say something?"

Aina adjusted her grip on the unconscious burnish and leaned to see what Galo was feeling, but Lio shied away from her. "...Hey, Galo, I don't think we have any extra blankets at the station. Do you have any at your place?" She paused, "Come to think of it, do you still have a place?"

"Yeah, my block seems to be standing fine," Galo said, tugging Lio a little closer. "Come stay with me tonight. Might not be your size, but I'll load you up with some winter clothing."

Lio hissed and wrenched free, scowling, "I'm needed here."

"Galo," Aina gave him a look of concern that was easy to read.

"On it," He answered, lifting Lio over his shoulder and tucking those sleeping pills into his pocket. Lio tried to hit him repeatedly and snarled.

"Put me _down_ , Galo Thymos, or I swear, I--"

"Five hours, then you can come back. I'll be right there with you." Galo promised, and Lio seemed to relent. After Aina had walked ahead of them with the sleeping burnish, Lio calmed.

"...How much do you trust them?" Lio demanded pointedly. "After what happened with Kray, how much can you still trust them?"

Galo paused and set Lio down, watching him shiver. "With my life! We're a team!" He declared, fist to his heart with conviction.

Lio stared for a few extra seconds and then looked away. "...Fine. I'll trust them. But if they show the burnish _any_ disrespect, I--"

"You're the only one we're disrespecting," Galo assured him, earning another scowl. "C'mon. Don't let them see their leader looking like this. You need a bath and a nap."

He combed fingers through Lio's hair to flatten it down where it had gotten messy, and Lio eyed him suspiciously through the action.

"You seriously feel freezing," Galo frowned. "Has it been like that since…"

"Since the promare left," Lio confirmed.

"You could've asked for clothes." Seriously, he'd been half-naked this whole time, someone could've given him a jacket or something if he'd just asked. Galo took a deep breath and picked Lio back up, ignoring the immediate struggle. "Here, my burning soul can warm you up on the way home," He teased, enjoying the way Lio turned bright red in the face.

"You-- You're an idiot!" He sputtered.

"Yep! But a warm one," Galo agreed, and kept carrying him. "With a working hot water heater, a cozy bed, and loads of blankets."

Lio was unwilling to outwardly relax, but he put up less of a fight as Galo got him home. His expression looked defeated as he silently scrutinized the apartment.

Galo would be the first to admit he didn't live some extravagant lifestyle; his apartment was a studio, there were just a couple of partitions set up in the room to divide it up. His kitchen was kept clean enough, but there wasn't enough storage for all the pots, pans and utensils he used, so they sat out on the countertop. His fridge was wide and had a lot of magnets with newspaper clippings all over it, which he made a mental note to dispose of.

He had a couch set in front of his TV with a few tray tables, but no dining set. Not necessary, since he usually ate alone. There was a bookcase that carried a few books on one of the shelves, but was otherwise dedicated to photo frames (that he also needed to dispose of) and a few various items that he had no other place for.

There was a low table he kept toward the center of the apartment, a special kind from Japan that he'd actually never used properly, but he still liked it.

His bed hadn't been made before he'd left to confront Kray. It had been a sleepless night, the city restless outside of his window and keeping him awake with the sounds of distant traffic until he'd left.

There wasn't enough time for dust to gather in a significant layer, but it had been over a week since anyone was in the apartment. Lio was out-of-place and quiet, walking through the space warily.

"So this is where you live…"

"Yep, home sweet home. Hope you don't mind staying tonight."

Lio glanced up at him, then continued surveying the space.

"You can take a bath or shower first if you want."

"...No. You first," Lio commanded, distrust in his tone. Well, he was out of his element, so Galo would let it slide.

"Okay. Want anything to eat?...I'm not sure anything in the fridge is good still, but there's plenty of stuff in the cabinets."

"...I'll look."

Lio really didn't seem happy. "Okay, but no running away, okay? It's just one night. Promise."

"Fine," He spat, wandering to the kitchen and starting to rifle through the random assortment of easy-to-make boxed foods.

Galo was pretty sure Lio could manage to make something like that without much supervision, so he started going through his drawers to find clothes to change into, and something Lio might be able to wear. He settled on a sweater and sweatpants with a drawstring for Lio, hoping it'd keep him warm, and he picked pajama pants for himself. No need for a shirt, he never wore one to sleep in.

He rarely wore clothes in bed, actually. Maybe underwear at most.

He rushed his shower and dried off, setting out the clothes and a spare towel for Lio before going to check on him. He'd found something canned and was eating it right out of the can with a fork, but Galo didn't have the heart to lecture him about it. He knew Lio had a rough life. A table manners lecture could come after he was better adjusted.

"Okay, your turn."

Lio looked up at him with a glare, and Galo saw that the articles from the fridge were scattered across the counter in front of him.

"...I'll throw those away."

"You should."

They lapsed into silence while Lio finished eating and reading the clippings, the sour look still on his face. Galo wasn't sure why he was tormenting himself, but… Well, Lio was a little strange. He finished and wordlessly wandered to the bathroom, and Galo heard a click as the door was locked behind him.

He sat the bottle of pills on the counter and swept the articles into his fist, crumpling them up and dropping them in the garbage. He hadn't decided if he needed a sleep aid, but he'd keep it around. Lio might, for one. And if Lio didn't like the idea of sharing space with him to stay warm, maybe Galo would need it too.

Would Lio be open to that though? He was so annoyed the whole time, it was hard to imagine him settling peacefully into bed. They'd gotten along so well before that, setting the world on fire, saving the burnish, saving each other… Galo might've dared to call it chemistry.

That's what it was, right? Something like that, or destiny, or whatever else it might've been. He was glad to have met Lio, no matter the circumstances, and he definitely wanted to keep him around.

But _in his bed_ … It couldn't hurt to try. He'd had partners he knew way less about before, and Lio was definitely attractive enough to get him fired up. If Lio was into it, anyway; he couldn't push anything, but regardless, he would make an invitation to keep Lio warm that night. However it'd be interpreted, he'd live with. He'd already kissed him, sorta. It wasn't coming out of nowhere.

There was leftover adrenaline in his system, and he thought Lio might be the same.

When the bathroom door opened, Galo was greeted with an adorable sight of Lio in clothes way too big for him. He didn't comment on it, but he smiled. "How was it?"

Lio was still shivering, and Galo's smile faltered.

"You okay? Did you dry off well enough?"

"I don't know," He said, lips trembling and looking almost blue. "I'm used to fire, I don't know that any of this is right."

Galo put an arm around him, tugging him to the couch to sit down. "So losing your fire-buddies put you into shock, maybe?"

"I don't know," Lio seethed, not thrilled at being pulled around but not fighting it either.

"Hey," Galo said, combing back Lio's slightly-damp bangs to get him to make eye contact. It was possibly too affectionate, but Lio didn't push him off or anything.

No, Lio kept staring, ever wary.

"We should share tonight. I'll keep you warm," he said, knowing full well how that could be taken, but not putting any suggestive tone behind it because it didn't _have_ to be taken that way.

Lio's eyes narrowed in disgust. "Is this what you invited me here for? Is this _taking responsibility_? You're a sick man, Galo Thymos."

"No! I mean it, I just want to keep you warm while you sleep!" He backpedaled right away, knowing it was the most cowardly thing he'd done all day but hoping to smooth things over. He _did_ genuinely care that Lio was freezing cold, and he wanted to help out. Sex would've been fun, but it was definitely not his real goal.

Lio said nothing, frowning.

"I won't touch you any way you wouldn't want me to," Galo declared, sincerely. "But I'm a pretty comfortable space-heater, okay?"

With a long sigh, Lio relented. "Fine. Only because I'm desperate."

"Want the sleeping meds Aina gave me?"

"I don't trust her that well."

"Gotcha," Galo eyed the bottle on the counter and knew he'd probably need it. "Well… Get cozy, I'll grab the winter blankets for you."

It may have been a little awkward, but it worked. There was a mountain of heavy blankets and Galo thought he might end up melting, but it was fine as long as Lio was comfortable. The bed was large, and Lio fit well under his chin, cuddled close that night. At some point, he stopped shivering, and Galo could allow himself to sleep.

The warming body against him fought off the creeping darkness of his nightmares, simply by being there. He wanted to stay Lio's space-heater if only to keep Lio in his bed, even if all they ever did was sleep.

  
  
  
  


It had been many years since Lio had slept in a proper bed, and never with another person, but he didn't find it unpleasant. Galo's body was firm, and he'd thought that wouldn't be so comfortable, but it was. A steady, warm presence through the night.

Though he was comfortable, he'd been shaken by that invitation; not because Galo was unattractive, nor because he actually hated the idea, but because he'd avoided the experience for so long that it shocked him. He didn't care _so_ much, but he wasn't going to start with a stranger, either.

And yet, a part of him couldn't keep calling Galo a stranger. They'd united as one, saved the planet, and somehow he felt as though he really _knew_ the man. Sickeningly earnest, sweet. The invitation was at odds with what he knew, in his opinion. Maybe he was a little too closed-minded. Or maybe he kept remembering that moment he'd asked Galo if he'd saved him. Galo exploded into a nervous fit and tried to punch him over embarrassment about a _kiss_.

When he closed his eyes and thought enough about it, he could remember Galo rescuing him, what his lips felt like, and Lio hated that after all the years he'd closed himself off from people, from ever being touched by _anyone_ , he found himself wanting to kiss the idiot again now. Just to see if it still felt incredible without the fire. It couldn't though. He couldn't. He had so much to accomplish still, so many people to protect, he couldn't give in to such dumb impulses.

Galo would hinder him, he knew that, and yet when morning came he didn't move until Galo did. He was warm and staying there was better than exposing himself to cold air, so he waited.

Finally Galo stirred, and Lio sat up, pulling a blanket around his shoulders and the rest fell behind him. For whatever reason, they'd been facing each other. Too weird, he wouldn't be doing that again. But it wasn't so bad.

"Can we go back now?" He asked sharply, waiting for Galo's response.

Galo rubbed his eyes and sat up, and Lio noticed the worn elastic waistband had fallen lower on his hips overnight. He didn't know why it had drawn his attention, but it had. "Uh. First, good morning. How'd you sleep?"

"I slept," Lio answered. There wasn't much more to it. He wasn't going to say anything Galo could misunderstand.

"Warm enough for you?"

"Yes."

"Want breakfast? I think I have pancake mix."

"...Yes," Lio admitted. "But then we go back?"

Galo leaned close to him, and for a moment Lio panicked, but he was just reaching past him for the bedside table, where his phone sat charging up. "Here," He said, unlocking it with the screen tilted just so, making sure Lio could see the pattern. "Looks like Aina's been sending updates. Get yourself caught up and we can leave after breakfast."

After handing off his phone, he climbed out of bed and walked toward the kitchen area. Lio watched him for a few moments, then turned his attention to the messages.

"You might want to ask her if she has clothes that might fit you better," Galo called back to him while setting up a pan on the stove.

Lio frowned at that, but he had a point. He was practically swimming in Galo's clothes, if not _drowning_ in them. He'd deal with that later, he decided as he fought down a shiver and scrolled through Aina's updates.

The pods were all cleared. She gave a full detail of the body count, the number of burnish that had been transported to the nearest functioning hospital for their sudden deformities, and the blessed number of able-bodied survivors, which lined Lio's eyes with relieved tears he wiped away quickly. There were fewer deaths than he'd thought. He remembered his own pain, and he'd thought that all of them had felt some level of the same thing, but perhaps it wasn't quite as much after all.

And then he shed a tear for those who'd died anyway, swiping the sweater sleeve over the phone screen to get rid of it. He was feeling a lot of things, just seeing the numbers. The burnish weren't _numbers_ to him, he had to apply names and faces to each of the deceased and he had to properly mourn them.

The messages continued, telling of non-burnish injured that he admittedly cared just a bit less about, but he was still relieved to see the numbers so much lower than he'd expected.

Continuing on, she'd also listed essential facilities that were no longer standing. Not surprising, considering how many of them Kray was taking aboard the Parnassus. Surprisingly, she also said their firehouse was half-collapsed, and even more surprising, Lio felt a pang of guilt, wondering if he'd done that or if the crash had. He'd caused a lot of damage before Kray did.

To that end, he wasn't sure why he'd been so surprised when Galo had demanded his help while they stood over the wreckage. Of course he was going to help, provided he wasn't chased out of town. Maybe it was just the way he'd said it that had caught him off-guard. Presumptuous.

Before calling Aina to address that clothing issue, Lio had to do something about Galo's home screen; he snapped a quick picture of his hand with his middle finger up and changed the wallpaper. Better than leaving Kray's face on there.

And then he hit the call button.

"Galo, how'd you sleep? Is Lio still with you?"

"This is Lio."

"...Oh! Galo's still alive, right?" He didn't think she was serious, but if she was then she was more callous than he was. Unlikely.

"He's making pancakes."

"And did you sleep okay? A lot of burnish are in a state of shock, and their body temperature is too low, is that the case for you?"

"...I'm fine," he lied. His nose felt cold more than anything, because he couldn't cover his face with blankets while talking on the phone. "Galo told me to ask you about clothing that might fit me better."

She took a moment, and then said "Huh." Her voice was thoughtful. "I guess I have a few things that might work for a guy, but they won't look that flattering on you," she warned. "But they'll do for the time being. I'll run home and grab them, and meet you guys at station two, okay?"

He agreed and hung up.

From what he knew of Galo, the news about the station might upset him, so he approached carefully (still bundled in a blanket).

"Almost done," Galo said, grinning.

"She said we have to meet at station two," He said, and Galo's smile faded slightly, just for a moment. It was odd, the way Lio's heart sank seeing it, but Galo recovered quickly and shook his head. It was… interesting, seeing Galo, an idiot, read between the lines so quickly. He was perceptive, no matter how dumb he could act.

"Everyone at station two seems pretty nice, from the couple times I met them. I'm sure it won't be bad."

"Even though your firehouse is unusable, you're okay with that?"

"We'll rebuild it," he answered simply, handing Lio a plate with a stack of way more pancakes than he thought he'd be able to eat.

But he surprised himself, and then Galo took him to station two, where Galo's captain and vice-captain were talking to the station two leader, a tall woman with broad shoulders that were slightly more decorated than most in her field. She didn't look too happy, but waved and offered a tired smile when they pulled up on Galo's bike.

"There are your heroes, Ignis. I'd better get back to work," she regarded them again with a nod as she walked past them to head to her office.

Galo had his arm around Lio as they approached, meaning to keep him warm but having the additional effect of making Galo's coworker look at them weird.

"Lio, this is Ignis and this is Remi. They're nice, I promise," Galo gestured at each of them and beamed at him. "You guys remember Lio, right?"

"...Yes, Galo, we're not stupid," Remi said, running a hand through his hair. "Everything is a mess right now. We've got a power vacuum on our hands, so we're working without pay until we can get a new governing body in place."

Lio listened with interest, but only so much. He wasn't looking to fill that void, no, but he was very concerned with who might.

"Don't worry too much, Fotia." Ignis had noticed. "We're trying to get Vanessa in the seat. She's a decent type." From a slight gesture, he figured out that 'Vanessa' was that more-decorated-than-captain person, and from his words Lio could conclude that Ignis knew what his immediate concerns would be. It was only ever about protecting the burnish for him, so maybe he was a little predictable.

"Working without pay is pretty rough." In spite of the words he'd used, Galo didn't sound all that upset about it. "Hope the landlord's gonna be cool about it."

"We'll see what we can do," Ignis agreed, folding his arms. From there, he started talking seriously about what their duties would be - Lio thought he might be able to just ignore it, but he listened anyway. Ignis wasn't his boss, but it was important to know where the pieces were positioned. Galo's Burning Rescue unit was going to be leading the crash site cleanup, along with the second unit they'd currently be sharing headquarters with. The entirety of Freeze Force was detained alongside Kray Foresight, which was a blessing. Ignis also detailed where other units were going to be, and what they'd be doing there, but Lio's attention wavered.

"...Should I have turned myself in?" He interrupted, knowing full well that it was rude, but he was going to be haunted by the question. He'd caused destruction to the city as well, after all, whether in retaliation or not.

Ignis looked at him - or at least, it seemed so, behind the sunglasses - and shook his head. "As long as you're not useless out here, no one's interested in putting you away."

"I see," Lio said, looking aside.

"You can work with us if you need guidance," Ignis told him, "But I'm going to assume you have your own priorities, and that's fine, as long as you're not hindering anyone else's work."

Lio nodded. The burnish were _always_ his priority, with or without their flames, and it was a good thing that people knew it. He wasn't going to fight for just anyone, he wasn't as pure-hearted as Galo. He'd seen too much.

It was about that time that Aina pulled up with a shopping bag strung over her arm, and Lio frowned when he remembered the kind of clothing she actually wore. He wouldn't enjoy this, but sometimes function was just that much more important than form, and he couldn't walk around wreckage in something baggy.

He wished he could conjure flames. His armor would serve him well here; he hated feeling small and ineffectual.

"Special delivery!" Aina cheered, holding out the bag for him. "I went through everything I had, and I think these are the safest bets for you."

He took the bag and reluctantly muttered "thanks."

"Galo, I'm kidnapping him for a bit," She said, nudging Lio's shoulder so he'd follow her guidance to a room in the back.

"Have fun!" Galo called after him. As if any part of this was fun.

The back room was apparently storage, but he found a few things brought over with unit three hanging off the shelving unit in the middle; some jackets and fragments of the weird mech suits they used, spare parts, weapons. A young woman was sitting cross-legged on the floor, grinning over a piece of equipment with a fired-up welding torch, which she cut off to raise her protective visor and wave at them. She had a rat on her shoulder that waved too. Lio gave them an odd look.

"Hey Lucia. Lio's going to be changing, so do you mind scooching over that way?" Aina gestured to the other side of the shelves.

"Sure thing," She agreed, showing teeth. Lio's instincts told him to be terrified of this woman.

But Aina, fearless, pulled a set of clothing out of the bag. Thankfully, it was black and not bright orange, but it was clearly cut for a woman, not a man. "I've never worn this shirt, so it shouldn't be stretched out anywhere," she told him. "And the leggings were too tight on me in places that I'm pretty sure will make them an easier fit for you. There's also a pair of jeans and a belt if these don't work."

After that, she moved around the shelves to give him privacy and apparently went to help Lucia with something.

The shirt had a logo on it he didn't recognize, and three quarter sleeves. It fit okay, though it seemed a touch too long. The leggings were snug, so maybe the longer shirt was a good thing. In the bag, along with the jeans, was a jacket (not leather), and a pair of gloves (leather). He'd done his best to hide how cold he'd been, and yet he found himself grateful, slipping the gloves over his hands and putting the jacket around his shoulders to make sure of the fit.

"Everything okay?" Aina asked from the other section of the room. He stepped out and she grimaced, which made him scowl. "How do you look better in my clothes than I do?" She complained, catching him off-guard.

Lucia snorted. "It's true! Man, attractive people are just the worst."

"Are you saying I'm una--"

"Thank you, Aina," Lio cut her off, knowing that they were just going to get caught up in friendly banter. That seemed to be the way Burning Rescue Three got along.

She was startled, "Oh, yeah. You're welcome," she said, and smiled at him. "After we've gotten things cleaned up more, I'll help you find more clothes if you need. Now that you're not a burnish anymore, I guess you'll have to sweat and smell like the rest of us, so you'll need to have more than one set."

"...You're right about that, but," Lio pointed out coldly, "I will _always_ be burnish."

He adjusted the sleeves of the jacket and turned to leave.

"That was so cool." He heard Lucia say.

It was the truth. He didn't need the flames to prove it anymore.


	2. Day 2

Everyone in the city had become part-time construction workers and part-time looters all at once. It was complicated. Half the city was in ruins, and if there was something intact among the rubble, people were encouraged to take it if only so that it wouldn't be a resource wasted. It wasn't taken _selfishly_ , it was more often than not contributed to a sort of community stockpile, cleaned up and kept in the tents placed near construction and demolition sites. That meant they could feed and clothe the people who'd lost their homes, and the burnish who'd lost everything long ago.

It had been Galo's idea, after seeing Lio in those slender leggings Aina gave him. Everyone deserved a fresh set of clothes, and Lio needed layers or something.

He hadn't missed that Lio was often shivering the worst among all of the burnish. Maybe it had something to do with how powerful he'd been before, and how adept he was at using flames.

After a full day of doing everything Ignis assigned him, Galo pulled Lio aside. "Wanna stay at my place again?" He probably sounded too hopeful. Lio gave him a look.

"And where will my people be staying, while I have the comfort of a bed?" It was a fair argument, but one of his closest companions, the one with the long hair and sly expression, patted Lio on the back.

"It's okay, Boss. You've been working harder than anyone else, and you deserve a break."

"But--"

"Seriously. We found that condemned mattress store, so we'll make use of that. We'll all sleep comfortably enough." The man glanced at Galo like he knew something that he and Lio didn't, and slinked away before Lio could form a proper argument.

Lio, though, looked betrayed.

"I doubt they don't want you with them, if that's what you'd prefer to do," Galo offered, hoping it smoothed over any hurt. He was positive that was true, as well. "But I liked having you too, so it's up to you."

He'd _really_ liked having him there. Someone who didn't rush out the door, stuck around to eat with him and chat. Even if Lio was kind of moody, it was really nice to have him around.

Lio didn't look at him, instead looking down at the empty case of water he'd distributed. "Fine. Once I'm done."

Galo grinned at him. "Okay! How can I help out?"

With another wary look, Lio gestured toward a gutted restaurant. "We've gotten permission from the owner of this building to convert it to a community kitchen temporarily, so we're cleaning it up now and tracking down sources for supplies."

That seemed like a fantastic idea; the only problem was that if it was a burnish project, not many of them would have the connections to find supplies. Galo, meanwhile, knew a ton of people, so he volunteered himself for that.

First, he stopped by his favorite pizza joint, asking if the owner there had any leads, and he got quite a few out of him and _heaps_ of donations that he struggled to carry back and put in the freezer of the future kitchen. That was by far the easiest one.

The next one was slightly more complicated. He went through his phone and scrolled through contacts for a minute before landing on an entry titled "M", and called. She had inherited ownership of a grocery store, and if she was feeling charitable (and in his experience, she was often quite charitable), she might be willing to help out. The real issue was that he'd definitely slept with her before. He remembered her as pretty with long dark hair, a kind smile, and eager to please, and he'd kept her number because of how friendly she'd been outside of his room. He wasn't making any calls for _that_ purpose though.

So after a slightly awkward but cordial conversation, she agreed to help out, no strings attached. A huge weight off of his shoulders, and off Lio's plate. That should cover supplies for a while, plenty of food to go around.

"I don't know how you managed it so quickly," Lio gave him a half-smile. "But thank you. I appreciate it. The rations were going to run out quickly, since several of us hadn't eaten for days before all this."

She arrived with the food and gave Galo a little wave and a smile as she helped unload her delivery van. Ah, so she came in person. That was possibly a bad sign, but he'd deal with it. There was a lot of fresh and frozen produce and meat to unload, so immediately some of the burnish moved to help her.

"The way you put away those pancakes this morning, I believe it."

Lio's mouth twitched. "Well, it had been more than a week, for me," He said, as if he was embarrassed by his eating habits. Galo found that especially cute. "You should take some of this for yourself, since so much of your food expired."

"That wouldn't be fair. I still have a place to live, I can buy groceries," Galo pointed out.

"You're currently working without a paycheck," Lio countered. "Plus, you made this happen."

Lio was being a lot nicer, and Galo liked it. He guessed it was because Galo had proven himself an ally after everything. He hoped that was it. "Alright, alright. How about you pick out what you'll want for dinner and breakfast, since you're staying with me?"

"I can't cook."

"I can! Seriously, whatever you want. You're my guest so I'll take care of you."

Lio stared at him before he nodded, wordlessly moving to help unload and presumably pick out something for himself.

Galo was about to help, too, but he was stopped by fingertips brushing his arm, and a coy invitation he had to turn down - he explained he had a guest, didn't want to leave them alone. She accepted it and smiled. "Next time, maybe."

He waved her off cheerfully, but he didn't want there to be a next time with her, not really. And especially not while he had Lio to share space with. Because it was never about sex in the first place.

And there was so much work left to be done that he was sure he could keep Lio around for longer. It wasn't _all_ about chasing away nightmares, he genuinely liked Lio a lot. Maybe it was from piloting together, but something had happened, and he felt drawn to him in ways he couldn't articulate.

He may have noticed Lio's eyes trailing after the woman as she returned to her van to leave once it had been emptied, but he tried not to read too much into that.

  
  
  
  
  


Lio watched while Galo made dinner, taking in information to use for later. He only knew anything about instant food, so knowing how to use a stove, and to season things, it would be important eventually. He'd be able to help with the community kitchen, maybe. Or he could live on his own. Obviously that was a while off.

He sat on the limited counter space, watching as Galo grew nervous. He didn't care if he made Galo feel nervous, though.

It was cold. It wasn't cold to anyone but burnish people, but it was freezing to him, and he could tell that Galo had raised the room temperature for him, because he was visibly sweating. And still, Lio was cold.

"Why do you have a table with a blanket attached?" He decided to ask.

"Oh, are you interested?" Galo turned to him with a wide grin and Lio frowned, mentally prepared for a powerpoint presentation. "It's called a kotatsu. It's a heated table--"

"Heated?" Lio perked up.

"Yeah! There's a heater built into it. I hear they're awesome in winter months."

"You hear?...So you've never used it?"

"Nah," Galo explained. "Fire hazard."

Unbelievable.

"Why have a table you don't use?"

"'Cause it's awesome," Galo proclaimed, beaming. "It's really popular in Japan!"

"It's just a table if you're not using it properly," Lio folded his arms, trying to hide a shiver.

"Maybe," Galo shrugged, "But at least this building is still standing!"

Lio rolled his eyes, knowing there was no way to win the argument. Still, he eyed the table again curiously, wondering. Galo really liked things from far-east islands. Lio didn't know much about it, other than what Galo had presented to him, but it sounded dumb when he explained it.

He almost wanted to ask if Galo's family had some sort of ties out there, but it wasn't his business any more than his family history was Galo's. More to the point, he was worried Galo might actually tell him, in excruciating detail.

They'd gotten back to Galo's home once the sky had darkened enough to justify it. He'd tried to stay around and make sure the burnish had comfortable places to sleep, but Meis and Gueira had shooed him away, telling him what he did or didn't deserve. It was frustrating, but he didn't want to fight with them over something like this.

He may have told them he had an interest in Galo, and they may have interpreted that in the most frustrating way possible. To him, the interest was a friendly one. A curiosity about him, a loyalty to him because of how much they'd accomplished together in the short time they'd known each other.

Galo hadn't been what he expected. Such open-mindedness was rare, and he wasn't too bright but he had the charisma to draw people in, and he was perceptive in ways Lio definitely wasn't. Galo was a mystery and Lio wanted to solve it. It wasn't any deeper than that.

Except when it was.

Because Galo was needy at night, a cuddler, and while Lio had initially assumed it was for his benefit, getting that invite again had only complicated the matter. His being there served _some_ purpose, and he wasn't sure what it was, but he figured he may as well serve it while he could. He owed Galo a great deal, after all. His life, the lives of all the burnish.

He'd been giving it a lot of thought, all day; how far would he go for Galo now? For a man he owed his life to - he ought to be kinder, at the very least.

He was cold to non-burnish all the time, he couldn't trust them so easily, though he knew he could trust Galo with anything. That was an objective truth. He couldn't risk losing Galo's friendship by repeatedly pushing him away, even if that was his instinct.

"How did you manage to get supplies together so fast?" He asked, as Galo stir-fried vegetables.

"I called on a couple friends," Galo answered.

"Girlfriend?"

Lio watched, sharply, as Galo's cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink.

"No, she's just a friend, really."

"...Are you lying?" To anyone else that would be a pointless question, anyone would just lie a second time. Somehow he trusted that Galo wouldn't. He knew Galo wouldn't.

"We never dated or anything," Galo glanced at him with a stubborn frown. "Why?"

"Curious," Lio told him. It wasn't a lie either. He'd been curious of her actions, and the way Galo looked at her. He'd… never had anything like that for himself. He was bound to be curious about such things.

According to Gueira, now was a good time to find something like that, relieve some stress. Of course, he'd had that sort of friend in Meis for years, so he wasn't one to talk. And yet still, Lio was thinking about maybe coming around on that idea. Maybe. He remained on the fence about it, but only because of Galo; he'd known since he was young that his tastes leaned toward men and firm, muscular bodies (specifically the kind he knew he wouldn't ever be able to gain for himself, as much as he hated it), and Galo fit that description well enough. He had pretty, expressive eyes and a sunshiny smile that infected the world around him. And if Lio were to look for a partner for _stress relief_ , Galo would be an obvious choice, if there was interest both ways.

Dwelling on it wouldn't help anything.

Galo handed him a plate full of food, chicken and vegetables mostly. Things Lio recognized as healthy even if they weren't his favorites, things that he knew would expire faster than other items they were keeping in the freezer storage at the former restaurant. Galo made it look tasty, at least. He'd made some sort of sauce and drizzled it all over the plate, like latticework, fancy.

"Thanks," he said, reaching for a fork.

"You can eat while watching TV if you want. Might be good to stay up-to-date on current events."

"I want to eat at your weird table," Lio said, knowing it might piss Galo off.

"It's not _weird_!" Jackpot. "It's a kotatsu! And you can eat at it, just don't turn it on."

"Tsk."

"Don't!"

Lio shot him a look, but ultimately gave up and sat at the super weird and non-functioning table to eat, looking at Galo to join him. He ate mostly silently; Galo had switched on the TV and listened to the news, but Lio was mostly uninterested - the news often lied, after all. He was used to Kray's propaganda seeping into every part of everyday life in the city; part of why he never intended to live there. And yet he'd spent two days in this tiny apartment, and liked it.

The food disappeared from his plate quickly. He hadn't eaten since Galo's pancakes at breakfast (and before that the little can of ravioli the night before, and then... he'd probably had some other canned food a week ago?), so he tried not to feel bad about it. It had been years since someone had been around to make him a home-cooked meal, so long that he wasn't sure if he felt nostalgic or what - but it was overwhelming. He could've cried, but he wasn't the type.

The news told a story about people being pulled from the Parnassus crash site, without a single mention of the burnish. He heard Galo grumble something about it and he let out a sigh. He liked that Galo was bothered by things Lio found so predictable, like that.

"Galo."

"Hmm?" His mouth was full, but he gulped it down hard.

"Truthfully. Did you want to have sex with me last night?"

And then Galo choked.

Lio waited.

His face was bright red, which spoke volumes. "Well-- I mean, if you wanted to, I--"

"Yes or no."

"...Kinda, yeah. But!! I mean, I like having you around even if you don't look at me that way! So I really won't do anything!" He looked so determined and embarrassed, it was baffling to watch.

Lio looked down at his plate, thinking quietly for a few seconds. "Okay. You can."

"Huh?"

"I'm saying," Lio leaned his elbows on the table, "I'll _take responsibility_. However you want me to do that."

Galo fell uncharacteristically silent, and Lio felt his eyes scrutinizing every detail of his face, every movement he might've made, looking for a tell. Maybe he'd puzzled him.

"You hated the idea yesterday. Called me sick."

"I was dragged to a strange place by a guy I'd just met," Lio said. "I was freezing and tired and hungry. Of course I was mad about it."

"That's true…" Galo still looked worried about accepting.

"If you've changed your mind, that's fine."

"Why did you change yours?" Galo asked, looking uncomfortable. "If it's 'cause you think you owe me or something, I don't want it. You don't owe me anything."

Lio laughed at that, softly. "Of course I _owe_ you, Galo. You've fed me homemade meals, housed me and clothed me, and you saved my life. But that's not why."

"Then why?"

"I don't appreciate having my motives questioned," Lio frowned at him. "I felt like offering. That's all."

They stared at each other for ten more seconds before Galo rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and said. "Alright, then. I guess we're doing this!"

Lio nodded and, in a mimicry of what he'd seen Galo do with their plates that morning, he cleared the table and rinsed them off. Galo tried to tell him he didn't have to, but he ignored it. He was being treated as a guest, but Galo was offering too much.

He could admit he didn't know how much soap to use, as a complete novice, but he did his best and Galo seemed to approve of it - or at least, he didn't re-wash the dishes, so that was enough. There were things Lio knew how to do, like leading a rebellion, and then there were domestic chores, which were a complete mystery.

Galo invited him to shower first and this time, he accepted, once again donning heavy winter clothing that had been set out for him (and he wondered why, because surely everything would come off? But he didn't vocalize any concerns). While Galo showered, Lio searched the room.

He'd already looked around the place for the most part, making sure there weren't any hidden weapons, there was a fire escape if he needed to leave in a hurry, things like that, but his interest was different the second time around. He was keeping an eye out for porn - Galo seemed the type to have it, and maybe Lio could figure out his tastes if he examined it, and make sure he hadn't gotten himself into a real mess by agreeing to try it with him. Without much experience, he'd have to rely on Galo to tell him what to do, and that seemed like a terrible idea. A guy who took a deadly hit right to the face and said his strategy was "grin and bear it" couldn't be trusted.

Lio couldn't find a secret hidden porn stash, but he guessed it wouldn't be easy. He _did_ find comics though, filled with wide-eyed characters in colorful clothing and wild hair (Galo's inspiration?), and he sat cross-legged on the floor thumbing through a volume while Galo showered. It was… weird. But interesting. By the time Galo had left the bathroom, Lio had gotten through more than half of the book and Galo beamed at him.

"D'you like it? I have every book out so far from that series. And there's an adaptation--"

"Another time," Lio cut through his words, looking up at him and setting the book down.

Galo was wearing pants with thin fabric; apparently walking around naked was just going to be too awkward even if they were about to go to bed together. Well, whatever. Lio stood, and Galo's hand gently touched his jaw, tilting his head and kissing him. It wasn't Lio's first kiss, but it was the first one he'd actually accepted - he'd had experiences with people who wanted him, but he didn't have any such desire for them at the time. He was fighting a war.

But now the war was over, and Galo was absolutely welcome to put his tongue down Lio's throat. Fingers threading through his hair, a puff of breath against his cheek. Hand on his waist, guiding his body against Galo's, sliding up the sweater he was given to wear. It was overwhelming and yet he knew it was barely a taste of what to expect.

"What do you like?" Galo asked him.

"...Doesn't matter to me," Lio answered with a shrug.

"You seem nervous."

His eyes narrowed and he gave Galo a shove towards the bed. "Don't read anything into it," he commanded, pushing until Galo let himself fall backwards onto the mattress, where Lio climbed over him. "Tell me what _you_ like."

It seemed as though Galo was delighted by this turn, which was silly. He propped himself upright and kissed Lio again, briefly this time. "I'll be happy if I can make you feel good."

"Okay…" They were just going in _circles_ , but he wasn't going to come right out and say he had no idea what he was doing. Sure, sex wasn't overcomplicated like foreign furniture assembly, things could generally fit together however you wanted them to, as he understood it, but he'd never _done_ it before and he didn't want to be horribly wrong and end up with one of them hurt (and judging by the shape Lio could make out through that thin fabric on Galo, he would be the one most likely to get hurt. Holy shit). "And if I wanted to do something for you?"

Galo hummed thoughtfully, slipping his warm hands under the sweater again, rough fingertips against Lio's unblemished skin. "I wanna start with you."

Lio decided then that Galo was _far_ more frustrating than he'd thought. And he'd already known he was stubborn and stupid.

But he was shockingly gentle with every touch along Lio's body, and it almost tickled. He was watching Lio's reactions with fierce determination and a fond expression, and Lio could only brace himself in place over Galo, hands in the mattress on either side of his head.

Galo leaned up and kissed him again. "I like this."

"Huh?" Lio looked down at his face, startled.

"Touching you. Kissing you while you're awake. Not for rescue purposes, but for fun."

"...I should _hope_ that it's better while I'm awake."

Galo laughed softly at that, sneaking his hands lower on Lio's body, thumbs on his hips and fingers spread out, gripping his ass. He had big hands. Strong. Lio gulped. "You're still nervous. We can stop whenever you want, you know."

"I made up my mind," Lio insisted, but still didn't take the proactive role Galo was trying to push him to.

"Alright, but if you want me to stop, tell me right away."

"I'm fine!" He hissed, and Galo gave him an odd look for it.

Galo's hands wandered more, under the waistband of the pants he was wearing, squeezing the flesh of his ass again. He'd more or less expected that; he knew Galo must have been with that woman before, he must be looking at Lio as a replacement for a woman. It wouldn't be the first time someone tried that. He was slender and pretty rather than handsome, he knew what kind of people were interested in someone like him.

...No. Galo wasn't like that - objectively he knew that was a fact, and yet he'd let himself get anxious about it.

And Galo nudged his cheek to keep his attention. It was somewhat surprising that he hadn't been thrown down on the bed and pinned or something, he could easily picture that sort of thing between them, but no, Galo was so tender. A finger brushed his tailbone and he shivered as it slid further down.

"Have you ever done this here?" Galo asked carefully, rubbing at the flesh just so Lio knew what he was referring to.

"No…" Lio admitted, his face warm.

"Oh. Want to do that to me instead?" Galo suddenly removed his hand like he'd crossed a line.

"What? I told you, I don't care. We can do whatever you want--"

"Hmm," Galo hummed again, wrapping an arm around Lio's waist and slipping his other hand down the _front_ of his pants, instead. "What I _want_ \--" he said, cupping him and making Lio squirm again, "--is to help you relax."

"I'm not _going_ to relax," He argued, unable to keep himself from pressing his hips lower, into Galo's hand. "I don't know what I'm doing."

Perhaps he shouldn't have confessed that with his fully hard dick in Galo's hand, but he hadn't intended to say it at all.

"You've never done this?"

"No, I haven't." Galo's grip loosened and Lio let out a sound he hadn't expected from himself.

Galo moved his hands to Lio's hips to sit them up, Lio straddling his lap. His eyebrows furrowed with concern. "Are you sure you want this? I mean-- You don't want it to be something more _special_?"

"I've told you what I want," Lio scowled, leaning into Galo's face, combative as the first time they met. "Why, was your first all that special?"

There was a twitch in Galo's brow that Lio almost missed, and a soft exhale. "Nah. You're right."

"Sorry." Lio could tell he struck a nerve. And his chest ached, because that reaction told him many things, but confirmed none of it; perhaps Galo had a terrible first experience, maybe heartbreak, maybe … Maybe the worst thing he could imagine. He shouldn't have brought it up. "I don't care much about 'firsts'," Lio told him. "But if I did, I'd be glad I was with someone I could trust."

That brought back Galo's smile, and it was annoyingly contagious. "Alright!" Galo cheered decisively, "I'm gonna make this feel _super fucking awesome_ for you, then. We'll worry about me if you like it enough for a next time. Sound good?"

It didn't. It sounded so generous that it circled around to pathetic and needy, but Lio didn't say so. "Fine," he said, fully intending to make Galo get off somehow, even if they took turns jerking each other off, or whatever. Galo could have the lead, because he knew if he didn't agree to it they'd just argue in more circles.

Galo looked around and lifted Lio again (he did that too easily, like he was some light prop - Galo was so strong. It was unfair), placing him at the head of the bed, cozy in the soft mound of pillows. "If I take your pants off, will you be too cold?"

"Not if you're doing things right," Lio offered a smirk that Galo answered.

"Well, get cozy!"

Galo's eagerness to please gave away more than he probably thought it did. But Lio didn't have any right to point it out; Galo may do this to fill a sort of loneliness in his life, but Lio only decided to do it because he'd lost all direction. The war and the fighting were _everything_ to him for so long, he didn't know how to be anything else other than a burnish leader. There had been plenty of offers for this before, women and men alike, dedicated to him and moved by the cause, or maybe just interested in his looks, Lio couldn't say, but he'd always turned them down. He didn't think of himself as some romantic soul, saving himself for true love, no, he was just too consumed with righteous anger to look at another person and feel anything that didn't fit into a 'friend' or 'foe' binary. No one stood out as attractive or captivated his interest in any special way.

And yet here he was, lost and curious enough to do this. Even if he ended up hating it, Galo seemed happy. That was enough.

He couldn't say he'd never been touched, but he'd certainly never invited it, so the people who did try putting their hands on him in the past were likely to lose those hands to fire. Inviting the touches made it for a different experience entirely, through the awkwardness. Galo slid the sweatpants down and placed a kiss on his hip, like a warning that he was getting started. Lio shivered, and then gasped sharply at the first touch of Galo's tongue.

"Shit."

Galo paused, glancing up to make sure Lio didn't mean 'stop' with that curse, then continued

It was unexpected, it felt weird, his legs were definitely still cold and he was trying not to shiver violently. But of course, _parts_ of him were warm. Galo's mouth was vaguely reminiscent of how good the fire could feel. His eyes kept watching Lio's reactions carefully and Lio wanted to cover his face, the sweater sleeves falling over his hands as he tried. In every way it felt good, it made him feel small as well. He doubted he'd be able to return the favor even half as effectively.

Galo tugged on his wrist and made him put a hand on the back of his head, which… Seemed mean. But if Galo liked it, he'd try; he combed fingers through the thick, wild hair and pushed it out of Galo's face, trying not to apply pressure because it would've made him feel bad (because if Galo tried that with him, he'd either vomit, or choke and die on the spot, he was sure of it).

His trembling grew worse when Galo pulled away, and he almost asked why before Galo preemptively answered, "You're still cold," and grabbed one of the many blankets he'd gotten out for Lio the night before, burying himself - and Lio's lower half - beneath it.

And if it was hard to handle when he could watch, it was even worse when he didn't know what Galo would do. Firm hands massaged his thighs as Galo continued, and all Lio could do was watch the movements under the blanket. He made a noise he hadn't intended to and covered his mouth yet again.

If he hadn't been seated the way he was, his hips would've been moving to meet Galo's mouth, but it was better that he couldn't (again, because the thought of reciprocation gave him that 'choke and die' impression). He hadn't been told to give warning when he was close, but it came to mind that he probably should, and his voice came out broken on Galo's name, and he barely lasted a second longer. He felt Galo swallow. And heard it. How mortifying.

"Y-you--" Lio stammered as Galo emerged from the blanket with a wide grin. "Don't expect me to swallow."

Somehow Galo thought that was funny enough that he snorted while wiping his chin off with the back of his hand. "You don't have to do anything you don't want," He assured him, "did you enjoy yourself though?"

Lio hesitated, but nodded, unwilling to give more praise than that and let it get to Galo's head. "Should I do the same for you now?"

"Don't have to, if you're still nervous." Galo kept smiling at him. It was stifling, in a way. It was as though he was genuinely sated just from getting Lio off. His own pleasure was immaterial. In turn, that motivated Lio to _do_ something about it, and he kicked Galo's hip to push him on his back (with enough space behind him that he wouldn't fall), and he pulled his pants back up (because it was still freezing).

Galo giggled, and Lio sneered at him, determined to wipe that grin off of his stupidly cute face. Before he could let himself dwell on the fact that he'd considered Galo's face cute, he yanked on the waistband of Galo's pants and leaned down.

Galo's erection was already dripping and stiff, and _heavy_ , leaning left as Galo adjusted his position to be propped up on his hands. He didn't act even a little surprised by Lio pushing him, but took a second to pet down Lio's hair, where it had evidently been sticking up. "You sure?"

"Shut up," Lio commanded, trying to remember how Galo had done it. Lio could barely wrap a hand around it and he was irrationally annoyed by this, but he slid his tongue over the tip, almost wincing at the taste. It wasn't pleasant, but it was tolerable.

He knew what felt good, kind of; he'd masturbated before, when he was safe and distracted and couldn't get his body to calm down any other way. It wasn't a _science,_ it was all about feeling, but after what Galo had done for him, he wasn't sure he knew anything at all. He took the head into his mouth and sucked on it, a little, rewarded with a pleasant sound from Galo's throat that encouraged him more.

This wasn't something he thought he'd ever do - not that he was against it or anything, he'd just never thought about it. Since he obviously wasn't taking the whole thing into his mouth, he wrapped his hand around the base and tried to move it in time with his mouth, but it took a lot more focus than he thought it would. Plus, he kept feeling disgusted by the weird noises he was hearing himself make.

"This really is your first time, huh?" He heard Galo say and he snapped his head up to look at him, answering with a questioning expression. "I mean… There's no such thing as a _bad_ blow-job, but you're kinda close--"

Lio's hand slipped lower and gave his balls a good squeeze. "What was that?"

"Ow, fuck! Sorry!" Galo was laughing even though it hurt, which honestly made Lio want to squeeze harder. He didn't, but that could change depending on the next words out of Galo's mouth. "Use tongue, use teeth, suck. You're embarrassed by the noise, right? You're sucking a dick, you don't need shame. Don't worry so much."

Lio held a glare on him for a few more seconds because of how he'd said that.

"And uh," he glanced away. "If you _want_ , you can keep squeezing?"

"You're sick," Lio told him, annoyed at how much he'd been salivating because it caused a little slur in his words. He meant it more as a joke, and Galo picked up on that and didn't get offended.

"You've mentioned that."

"As long as you know." He paused before trying again, still determined to finish what he'd started even if he was _slightly_ disheartened. "...If you want to give me directions, it's fine."

"You'll get the hang of it," Galo assured him. "I was awful once too--" Lio squeezed again "-- _Ow_ , damn!"

If nothing else, he'd confirmed that Galo had indeed slept with men before, so the thought of being a replacement for a woman was no longer a lingering thought in the back of his mind. Even if he wasn't all that concerned about it. He'd gotten himself into this position by his own choice, after all. So, still nervous and determined, he tucked his hair behind his ears and leaned back down to try again, keeping Galo's words in mind.

Galo's mouth hadn't just been warm and wet, he'd felt his tongue tease at him, so he tried his best to work on mimicking that. And he was less mindful of his teeth, letting them scrape at the skin gently as he moved. Sucking on him was the least rewarding, since that gross taste kept hitting him every time he tried, but if he ignored that he could listen instead for sounds Galo made, little praises and encouragement, sometimes gasps and even once, a moan.

"You're a fast learner," Galo told him in an unsteady tone. It spurred him on, and his jaw was sore by the time Galo gave him warning, just telling him the word "off" with urgency.

He lifted his head off and pressed his free hand over Galo's dick instead, to keep from making a mess. He kept moving his hand though, coaxing Galo to finish. Which he did, with a shiver in his hips and his stomach muscles visibly tense, almost enchanting. And Galo was _always_ loud, but it was nice to hear his voice without any challenge in it, just crying out, enjoying himself. Maybe Lio could sort of understand why people could be addicted to this sort of activity, while he was watching Galo.

Lio wiped the semen and saliva from his hands with a grimace, because it was almost _worse_ having it rubbed into the knees of his pants, but they were clearly made for sleeping in, so he wasn't going to be seen that way by anyone but the person who'd made the mess in the first place.

Galo let out a long sigh, winding down and tugging his pants back on lazily. "See? You got the hang of it."

Lio glared at him, but he knew that Galo hadn't meant it to pick on him. It was just… embarrassing. That was all. Lio didn't deal well with embarrassment.

"Is it cool if I kiss you now?"

"Huh? Why wouldn't-- oh." Because they'd just done that. Because Galo had gulped down cum without a second thought. It was weird, but he shrugged. "If you want."

"Nice," Galo looked so pleased with himself, and tugged Lio's body close to kiss him again. There wasn't any fire between their lips, just wet and messy and kind of strange, but Lio didn't hate it.

As soon as his mouth was free, Lio said, "I want to brush my teeth."

"Hmm." Galo used his tongue to feel around his own mouth, and nodded. "I should, too. I think I have a spare toothbrush, c'mon."

Curiously, Galo held his hand to guide him to the bathroom. A short distance, and terribly unnecessary in a studio apartment that was impossible to get lost in, so it was noteworthy. Lio didn't know what to do with that, and quietly filed that information in the back of his mind for later.

In the meantime, he had his own toothbrush now; it was neon yellow and sat next to Galo's orange one in a cup by the sink.

  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Day 3

Galo knew Lio wasn't his lover, or his boyfriend, or anything even close to that. He was probably experimenting, and that was fine. Galo had known other guys who wanted to experiment before. At least if he was doing it with Galo, he could be safe, since Galo definitely didn't have any diseases and he wasn't the type to do anything his partners wouldn't enjoy.

And fiercely, he wanted to protect Lio from that type of person, after seeing how nervous he'd been last night. That was what he'd decided in the morning, making pancakes, eggs and bacon for them both while Lio was still waking up and processing things. It was easy to tell that he struggled sleeping, especially with how cold he always was.

He wanted to point out that the other burnish, especially the children, seemed to be adapting to it, their core temperature changing. He wanted to find out what made Lio different, but he didn't want to bring the conversation out of nowhere, freak him out or anything. He'd ask Aina's sister maybe. She was under Aina's strict supervision, working as an assistant to Lucia rather than having her own freedom after all she'd done, but she still knew a lot more about burnish physiology than Galo did, for sure.

He flipped the pancakes, and stacked the misshapen ones on his own plate and the perfect-looking ones on Lio's, because it felt fun to have a guest for breakfast, and he wanted to spoil him a little. He wanted to give him more clothes to wear, he wanted to keep feeding him. He wanted to keep him there. Maybe that was foolish. Again, they weren't lovers. But at the very least, he was sure they enjoyed each others' company.

"Does that feeling ever go away?" Lio asked, bundled in a blanket beside the kotatsu, which was still turned off. "That… it doesn't feel real?"

"Mm, yeah, kinda," Galo noted, pretty sure he knew what Lio was talking about. "But now that it's over, saving the world doesn't feel real, right?"

Lio almost laughed. Almost. "I guess."

Galo set the plate in front of him and sat down across from him. "Do you regret it?"

"...About as much as I regret saving the world," Lio said, sort-of smiling as he pressed his fork into a pancake sideways instead of using a knife. "But, how often do you do this? Invite people over…"

Galo gulped down a large bite of his food before he could answer. "Uh."

"You don't _have_ to answer, it's okay."

"No, I mean… I guess I just sleep better when someone's with me. So I like having someone here. Even when I was little, I remember I used to sneak into my parents' room and curl up on their bed sometimes." The fact that it was miles worse after their deaths, he didn't say.

Lio watched him, and Galo noticed, not for the first time, that his stare was intense, as if boring holes into his very soul. He took a few moments to actually say anything, and it almost made Galo feel nervous, but he didn't feel _judgement_ from him, just the kind of scrutiny that came with puzzle-solving. He was trying to read between the lines, and it seemed that he came to a conclusion he didn't mind. "Does that mean you'll invite me here again tonight?"

"Yeah! Yeah, whenever you want, of course!" His heart lifted, glad that Lio seemed agreeable.

"As long as the burnish don't need me," Lio said, in the tone he always used when talking to 'outsiders' about 'his people'. Galo hadn't missed the difference, but he wasn't sure Lio knew it was there. "I don't mind coming back."

After a second of that warm, fluttery feeling in his chest, Galo smiled around another bite of pancake, swallowing it down. "And I'll keep making food for you every time you come."

"If it sounds too good, I'll be suspicious," Lio was smiling again, so Galo would know it was a tease.

"Maybe you should be!" Galo teased right back, raising an eyebrow.

Lio didn't answer, and his smile started to fade. There was definitely something bothering him and Galo couldn't figure it out, and he had a feeling that asking wouldn't get him very far.

"If there's anything you need, just let me know," Galo decided to tell him. Hopefully that would be enough, though he knew Lio wouldn't come to him for anything too personal.

But Lio nodded, and he kept eating. For such a skinny guy, he had one hell of an appetite.

Maybe Galo could invite him to one of his and Varys's eating contests. "Want seconds?"

"...No, that's fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Lio twirled the fork on his mostly-empty plate, in deep thought. "I didn't tell you before, but when Freeze Force attacked our settlement and kidnapped all of the burnish--"

"Wait, they did what?"

"...I assumed you knew."

"No," Galo shook his head, "I mean, I knew they had taken them, but I didn't know how it happened…" He supposed it had to have been gruesome, because Freeze Force didn't do cruelty by halves. And he had to remind himself that he and Lio had saved almost all of them, in the end. It would be okay, even if things still needed work.

Lio paused, and looked down. "They used an experimental weapon on me, made especially to kill me. It kept feeding off of my heat, and I was trapped in ice for a full week before I could fight my way free." He didn't look proud of it, but Galo thought that was ridiculous.

"You freed yourself from a weapon designed specifically to kill you," he repeated, amazed.

"...It took me too long. I couldn't save all of them because--" 

"Lio, you can't take the blame for what _Freeze Force_ did to you."

Lio watched him again, studying, silent.

"You fought like hell to save them."

"And it wasn't enough," Lio's jaw was clenched tight when he paused. "...Anyway. I just thought I'd fill you in. I think that weapon is why I can't seem to warm up anymore, so… Staying here will benefit me, as well. It _would_ be easier to sleep next to someone providing heat I can't."

Galo folded his arms across his chest almost proudly, "Sure thing! My burni--"

"Shut up about your burning soul."

The interruption was so well-timed that Galo wasn't even offended, he just laughed and relaxed his shoulders. "I guess this makes us friends with benefits, huh?"

He saw color in Lio's cheeks, so he must've known what that term meant in spite of inexperience. That was kind of cute. "Yeah, it seems that way."

Galo leaned forward on the table, still grinning, and held out his fist. Lio bumped it after taking a second to figure out what he was doing. "You can call on me if you ever need anything."

"...I could say the same, if I had a phone," Lio looked amused.

"Work for Burning Rescue and you get a free one!"

"You're suggesting that the leader of an arsonist group fight fires?"

"It's something to consider," he said with a laugh. It wasn't the same fire, anyway, and he didn't need to tell Lio that. Lio knew the promare-flames intimately, and could control them. He couldn't do the same with the regular stuff.

"I suppose it is," Lio agreed, halfheartedly but good enough for the time being.

It wasn't hard to see that Lio was struggling with something, and was intent on solving his problems alone. Galo may have always wanted to be helpful, but he knew when to stand down and let people think things through on their own. That in mind, he didn't push, he just picked up Lio's plate along with his own so he could wash it. Lio almost protested, because apparently there was something wrong with being treated like a guest.

When they dressed, Galo noted that Lio had found another set of clothes that he pulled from a worn-in messenger bag. While it would be thankfully less distracting to see him in something less form-hugging than Aina's leggings had been, he wasn't sure he was pleased with what Lio had found. It was a little shabby, so he was probably letting the other burnish take everything they needed before he would help himself to anything. At least the clothes looked warm; the sweater fell over his hands, but it was at least thick and would help with those violent chills.

He deserved to have belongings of his own, and he was starting to realize that Lio and the other burnish, they had _nothing_ , and starting their lives over in the city was going to be nearly impossible without enough community support. Galo didn't have the means to help them all himself.

Before they left that day, Galo handed him a spare key. Lio stared at it oddly.

"This way you can come over whenever you want, even if my shift runs long, or you decide to work for a freakishly long time and need to get in at three in the morning."

"How are you okay with this?" Lio didn't look suspicious anymore, but still curious. Maybe a little concerned.

"How could I not be? I like having you around!"

Lio's fist closed around the key and he nodded, offering a soft "thanks" in return, like he was still unsure.

Galo was dumb, but he wasn't blind. Still, he couldn't _force_ Lio to open up to him, so it would have to do to just be a friend for the time being and hope Lio could work it out, or trust him. They'd keep working together well enough until then.

So, instead of worrying, he gave Lio a lift to the section of the city that the burnish had started carving out for themselves, and he went to Station Two after a short detour, when he forgot that Three was still in ruins.

  
  
  
  
  


Lio had kept Aina's gloves. She'd told him it was okay, and though he would've argued about it, he couldn't give them back after how much he'd worn them in while clearing out rubble from the city streets. They looked aged by a good two years after two days of work.

Meis had found a pair of winter gloves for himself, and Gueira just let himself suffer, and they were the three who seemed to be the worst off among the burnish. It had something to do with how strong their fires were, after all. Even then, after a while Meis shed the gloves and Gueira had to ditch his jacket while working hard in the midday heat, but Lio still felt cold. Perhaps it was the bullet _and_ his strength with fire. He hoped it would go away.

He missed the fire, though.

He stumbled over a crack in the pavement he hadn't seen, smothered by dust, and Gueira caught him by the shoulder before he could fall. A week ago he would've been able to step confidently. If the ground was uneven, he'd just melt it level or fly right over it. Now, he was weak, and it took too much strength to do something as simple as load large stones onto a cart to move out of the way. If he knew how to pilot like Galo did, maybe this would be easier, but none of the burnish had access to such things, so they were all toiling away and trying to make room for themselves in the city that hated them. Lio knew it was an uphill battle, and he could only hope he wouldn't keep losing his footing when no one was there to catch him.

"Thanks," He said quietly, his throat dry from dust inhalation more than dehydration, though both were indeed an issue.

"You eat lunch, Boss?" Gueira asked him, frowning.

Lio decided not to answer, dropping the heavy concrete slab onto their makeshift cart. One of the able-bodied burnish had known how to make asphalt properly, so it'd all be crunched up into little rocks and made into pavement soon. They could do anything for themselves if they had to. Pave their _own_ future.

"Boss, you need to eat."

"I had a large breakfast," He countered, scowling.

"Yeah, that was what, seven hours ago? We have access to food now. Use it." Lio was about to argue, but Gueira knew what he'd say and cut in, "No one is going to go hungry. You don't have to do that to yourself for everyone else."

Lio lowered his head, and Gueira took it as a nod and started pushing him toward the kitchen. It was odd, being called boss and then being pushed around like that. He didn't feel like much of a leader that way, but he knew it was done out of concern.

There were two former burnish manning the kitchen, a middle-aged woman and her son that Lio had recognized from the burnish settlement. They were friendly and helpful, and apparently could cook well. Something smelled fantastic. The young man brightened seeing them walk in, and cheerfully greeted Lio as "boss" as well, hurriedly getting a plate ready for him. He felt a twinge of embarrassment at it, but he couldn't say why.

Gueira sat at one of the shabby picnic tables they'd set up inside the building, and Lio joined him quietly. The food looked good. Not as nice as Galo's, but it was still miles better than anything the burnish had available to them on the road. More than miles. It was like living on a different planet.

While he ate, Gueira also kept silent for a while. Watching, making it awkward.

"What?"

"Nothing!" Gueira protested. "Just in very deep thought."

Lio looked at him skeptically.

"You look upset. Did that guy not treat you right?"

After choking on his food for a second, Lio grimaced. "What are you talking about?"

Gueira hummed thoughtfully. "Meis said you hooked up with the firefighter last night."

Lio's first impulse, which he ignored, was to deny it was anything of the sort - he couldn't say why, though, since it didn't really _matter_. Nor was it really Gueira's business, but they didn't usually hide things from each other. "I wasn't thinking about that," He decided to say instead. Because he wasn't. Thoughts of Galo crossed his mind occasionally, sure, as much as any friend and ally would, but mostly he was thinking ahead, for the burnish. Really, his General ought to know that.

"Alright. But you give me the word and Meis and I will rough him up for you!" 

"Unnecessary." He shoved a fork full of food in his mouth because he was ready to be done talking about it. Gueira went back to watching him and making him feel way too self-conscious. " _What_."

"Nothin'." Gueira leaned his elbows on the table. "Trying to figure out what's on your mind, if it isn't that guy."

"Housing," Lio answered. "Everyone can't keep sleeping on stolen mattresses. Where supplies will come from after we run out. What will happen when--"

"Damn, Boss, you can talk to us about that kinda thing, you know?" Gueira looked almost hurt, and Lio very nearly flinched at the expression. "We all know what we have to work for. You can't do everything yourself."

"I know." He couldn't do everything as a burnish, and he managed so much less with the promare gone. But he wouldn't say that out loud, because it was _weakness_ , and he wasn't prepared to share so much of that. "It's what I've been thinking about, though."

"What do you think we should do about it, then?"

From there, they started digging into details. How this or that wouldn't work. Reclaiming land owned by Foresight for themselves, because it's the minimum that they were owed after all they'd been put through (and at some point, Lio knew they'd need permission for that, but Gueira wasn't the 'ask permission' type, so he held his tongue. Better to raise that issue with someone who was more amenable to it). He knew they'd need outside help if they wanted it done quickly enough, but trust was going to be the biggest issue. He trusted Galo, and to a certain extent he trusted Galo's teammates, but there were very few in the city he would bother turning to for assistance. He'd be reluctant to ask _anyone_ but the burnish.

They were meant to do this on their own, in the first place. They _could_ do it.

He managed to finish his plate before it got cold, and went to go wash it, but that bright-eyed young man took it and was practically sparkling at him. Being served was kind of annoying, but Lio put up with it, because when he tried to argue that he'd do it himself the guy gave him the most dejected look Lio had ever seen on another man's face.

As they left, Gueira decided to tell him, "If things don't work out with the firefighter, you could probably go for that--"

"No," Lio stopped him coldly.

"Not your type?"

" _Not talking about this_." Lio had an authoritative hiss in his tone. Gueira backed down, and they returned to where they'd stationed themselves before, clearing out more rubble.

He thought more about it. About ingratiating himself to Burning Rescue; maybe they would give them access to some of their gear, make building easier. Maybe they could find a way to use Kray's technology to do this; after all, if he'd been hoping to start a colony somewhere, he must've prepared to make housing for the people he'd bring along. There had to be resources to make this faster, to help his people find comfort.

If they made the city their home, they would need allies.

But for now, he kept it to himself, listening to Gueira babble about whatever came to mind (he was the type that always had to interrupt silence, hated the quiet whenever he imagined tension in it). They discussed how a housing layout might work, what each burnish household definitely needed. How it would be amazing to have proper bedrooms to decorate, bathrooms with hot water.

"Gueira," Lio eventually spoke up to change the topic, and when his former General looked at him expectantly, he frowned. "What do you think _Hunter X Hunter_ is supposed to mean?"

Because somewhere in the back of his mind, whenever he thought of home, of comfort, he'd started thinking of Galo's tiny apartment, his useless table, his comfortable bed and his bookshelves lined with translated foreign comic books, and he wanted to return there. He felt the key in his pocket, and secretly looked forward to using it.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Galo's day was shockingly uneventful. Cleanup came before rebuilding, and there weren't any fires to put out. They were simply quarrying the rubble and letting Lucia and Heris use Kray's tech to make it into useful resources - he could tell Lucia was having a blast with it, but Heris had a gloomy attitude that brought everyone within a mile radius of her down a few notches. She wasn't the most reasonable person, Galo knew that, but he didn't hate her or anything. He could not say the same for Aina, who'd been avoiding her all day.

He'd been warned by almost everyone that he needed to stay away from the sibling drama, so he did.

Once he was home, he decided to bet on Lio showing up, and started cooking. He kind of wanted to show off Japanese dishes he'd taught himself to make, since Lio liked sitting at the kotatsu, but he hadn't done any shopping yet, so he had to work with what was left of the things Lio had picked out the day before. Still, he had enough for tempura at least, so he prepared the vegetables for it and got to work.

The whole time, he kept thinking about the faces Lio made while he ate, that little smile that showed he was enjoying it even though he would eat quietly and wasn't really the type to hand out compliments. Galo needed to face it - he _really_ liked having Lio around. He didn't know how deep that ran, maybe no different than getting a pet that relied on him. Maybe it was more like enjoying the company of a roommate, and in order to keep him there he'd have to move to an apartment with at least a little more space. Keeping him - that was a messy thought, he discarded it and focused on dinner.

Lio didn't show up until the food had grown cold, but that was okay. Galo liked that he was right, and he showed up at all. It was easy enough to heat it up for him.

"...What is it with people today and watching me eat?" Lio complained, giving Galo a sour look.

He didn't know why, but he thought that was funny. "Well, I already ate, but it's nicer to have dinner with someone, isn't it?"

Lio's cheeks were a little pink. His embarrassment was cute, Galo thought, and scenes from the night before flitted through his mind. Lio's cute, frustrated and nervous expressions had been in and out of his head all day. And honestly, he'd never dwelled _that_ much on someone after sleeping with them, but he figured Lio was special because of all they'd been through in such a short amount of time.

And because he stayed.

"The food is good. Thank you," Lio said, kind of quiet. "You should show me how you made it." He was trying to avoid meeting Galo's eyes, somewhere between being coy and annoyed. The way his lashes shielded his eyes was so pretty. That was weird.

"Yeah! I'll show you the ropes for sure!"

Lio glanced at him, his chin in his hand and elbow on the table. "You're like an idiot savant, or something, right?" He had a tiny, teasing smile on his face that very nearly lit a fire in Galo's chest.

"Sure, the number one firefighting idiot chef," Galo beamed.

"How did you learn?"

"I've lived alone… Uh, you know why. I just had to learn or else I felt like a burden to-- well." His mood didn't sink as much as he thought it would, but he noted that Lio's reaction was _far_ worse, the corner of his mouth twitched and a crease showed between his eyebrows in irritation. He knew better than to say the name, but he'd been obvious enough to piss Lio off already. "Sorry."

"Don't be," Lio said quickly. "What he did to you was inexcusable. I didn't even know I could hate him more than I did a week ago."

He wanted to argue that what he'd done to Lio and the rest of the burnish was worse, but he didn't, because he knew Lio was aware of that. More importantly, Lio getting so angry on his behalf was weirdly flattering. He couldn't suppress a smile, and Lio's expression changed, more confused than before. Rather than explaining himself, he grabbed Lio's plate to clean up. "You can go ahead and grab a shower if you want."

While he washed the dishes, he noted that Lio hadn't moved for a full minute, and he didn't go toward the bathroom when he did, instead walking closer to Galo and hesitantly grasping his sleeve to get his attention. It was so bizarrely innocent for the leader of the Mad Burnish. He looked nervous again, and determined. "...Do I need to do anything?" He asked, voice forcefully steadied. "...To _prepare_ , I mean."

It took Galo a couple more seconds than he was proud of to realize what Lio meant. "Oh! Uh, no, don't worry about that," He answered quickly, but then amended, "I mean. We don't have to do anything you don't want to. And if that's something you're interested in, I don't think it'd be smart to rush into it?" He wouldn't say why - Lio was very petite, Galo didn't want to hurt him. Maybe get him used to it with his fingers first.

He hadn't been sure that Lio would've wanted to try anything again, since they'd had that talk about just enjoying each other's presence at night, no need for the sex part of it. If Lio wanted more though, Galo would just take it as a compliment. And he'd give Lio whatever he wanted, because what he'd said before, about being with someone he trusted, that had struck a nerve. Lio deserved to feel safe and comfortable and he deserved to enjoy himself after all the crap he'd been through.

Lio stared at him for an extra few seconds before turning and grabbing that worn bag again. Galo still needed to do something about clothes for him. At least wash the stuff he'd been wearing so it could be used again. He'd have to ask first, because Lio would probably be upset if his clothes went missing all of a sudden.

When Lio exited the bathroom, once again in clothes way too big for him (which was ridiculously cute, Galo loved the look and would never say so for fear of injury, mostly to Lio's pride but also to wherever he decided to kick Galo for it), he walked up to Galo without knowing what to do, so Galo put an arm around his waist and pulled him into his lap on the bed. Noting the slight tremble in his limbs, Galo asked, "You okay?"

"Still cold," Lio answered curtly, his voice strained.

"Well, I can fix that," Galo grinned at him and leaned close to kiss Lio's throat - and to his surprise, Lio didn't flinch away as though it tickled, but tilted his chin to give him better access. A sweet warmth filled his chest. "Anything specific you want to try?"

Lio shook his head, but then added, "Maybe… To know what it feels like. Inside."

"Two options then," Galo rested his hands on Lio's waist and slid his fingers against skin right above the elastic waistband of his pants. "One, you can do me. Two, I can show you with my hands to get you used to it."

Lio paused, giving Galo a look that he was actually familiar with. Yeah, he liked it both ways. Maybe that wasn't the vibe he gave off, but it felt good both ways, so he didn't limit himself. "Show me," Lio said. "I want to know what it feels like before I do it to someone else." Sound reasoning, Galo thought.

It had been a surprise the night before to learn that Lio was a pretty decent kisser, in spite of his lack of experience. A bit shy, but in a way Galo didn't mind. He was a bit bolder when Galo kissed him again, eager to add to the feeling. He probably had no idea how cute he was being, but maybe Galo was a little biased. He _really_ liked Lio, liked how honest and forceful he could be, and how driven he was.

After everything Galo had lost recently, Lio was exactly what he needed. He was the strong, compassionate leader that Galo _thought_ Kray was, worthy of every bit of admiration.

There was a little shudder in Lio's limbs when Galo's fingers slid under his clothes, over his tailbone, almost like he was ticklish or especially sensitive there. Rather than using dry fingers on him, he gave his ass a squeeze and smiled. "Okay, think you can manage without pants on for a while? Or is it too cold?"

But before Lio could answer, he pulled him with him toward the middle of the bed, nesting the blankets around them so that Lio's legs could stay mostly covered. It was worth a shot. Lio gave him a smile and a raised eyebrow before slipping the sweatpants lower, struggling to get them off of his body while staying close to Galo. He did though, and tossed them to the side.

He was already hard, which was nice, since it meant he'd probably been looking forward to this, even if he still carried that air of nervousness. It all just made Galo more excited to make him feel good.

He stroked his erection a few times, slowly, while he adjusted the blankets over most of Lio's legs (fantastic legs, he would be revisiting that later for sure). The lube was in the bedside table, just barely in reach, and he leaned to grab it but just set it down beside the blanket nest instead of using it. Getting Lio comfortable came first.

He kissed him again, because it seemed to help, licking at his lips to coax him further into it, then stroked him again, slid his other hand between Lio's legs and pressed fingers against his perineum, firm. It drew a gasp from him, broke the kiss and Lio's fists tightened, pressed against Galo's bare chest. A little curse slipped out.

"You okay?"

"Stop asking me that," Lio hissed, "That's just… weird."

"Feels great once you get used to it!"

Lio's eyes had that fierce, grouchy look to them when they looked at Galo then. It almost made him laugh. Instead, he thumbed over the head of Lio's cock and watched his reaction, this time a small wince, and kissed his forehead in a way he hoped was comforting.

He took a quick break from that to grab a condom and lube, slipping both over two fingers. He was probably being too gentle for Lio's tastes, but he would keep that up until it felt more like a casual thing between them.

Lio lifted his hips, though it may not have been a conscious decision, and Galo pressed the wet fingers against him, pushing in slowly enough to keep watch over Lio's reactions. "Still feels weird, doesn't it?"

Lio nodded, a grimace on his face. "You enjoy this?"

"I enjoy _this_ part," Galo teased, moving his fingers _just so_ , in the general location of the prostate, making Lio's body tense up. "There it is…" He added, in a lighter voice that Lio shivered to.

"Oh…" Was all Lio seemed to manage at that.

"Yeah. I'll make this good for you, just relax," Galo promised, sneaking his other hand down the front of Lio's pants and once again massaging his perineal area. Lio was effectively enveloped in a hug on Galo's lap, and he kind of seemed to like it, leaning his forehead against Galo's shoulder. Maybe he was just seeking warmth. That was okay. The trembling in his limbs wasn't anything to do with the cold.

He wondered, though, if perhaps it would be impossible for Lio to take him, too tight around his fingers to really trust that it wouldn't hurt. He hoped they'd have the chance to try, but he wouldn't dare push it too far. He checked that Lio was okay two more times over the next couple minutes, until Lio stopped using full words and started letting out cute little whimpers and moans, and he kept moving his hips along with Galo's fingers like he couldn't get enough. Muscles in his thighs kept tensing and it was a delight to see it.

Somehow he'd pushed his body closer, and Galo felt him grinding against his stomach, already wet and hard. He seemed to be more readily giving in, which was promising, and honestly kind of beautiful.

His eyes were watering when he leaned back just enough to tug Galo's face into another kiss to drown out the noises that were likely embarrassing him. Messier than before, Lio less controlled and Galo too focused on working his fingers inside and outside of Lio's body, wanting to push him to the edge that way. Then he moaned Galo's name in a deep, breathy voice.

It was unusual, and noteworthy because Galo liked it. Most of the time, his casual partners wouldn't bother with such a thing - 'harder', 'yes', whatever else, sure, but not his name. That was far more encouraging anyway.

Lio desperately reached between them in their tangle of limbs, his hand over Galo's cock, squeezing hesitantly through fabric. "You too--" He tried to insist, and though Galo wasn't unmoved, he relentlessly continued fingering him and Lio's grip wavered as he climaxed, trying hard to keep sounds to himself and failing, biting back a gasp only for it to turn into a whimper.

Galo let him ride it out before pulling his fingers out and reaching behind him for tissues so that Lio could get cleaned up, but Lio's hand clamped onto his wrist to stop him.

"What about you?"

"Huh?"

"I agreed to this," he started, and Galo almost argued that no he didn't, but that wouldn't really get them anywhere, "because I thought it would be _mutually beneficial_ , Galo." He was still catching his breath, and a little shaky, but he wasn't letting that stop him from being forceful and bossy. Galo was starting to like that side of him.

"Hey, I liked doing this for you! We both enjoyed it."

"Not good enough," Lio insisted. "Do you want me to try the same for you?"

Instead of saying that Lio didn't have to, Galo thought better of it, leaning in closer and saying "Not yet," with a smile he hoped was suggestive. "Save it. I wouldn't want to stop at just your hands."

He was rewarded with Lio turning a lovely shade of pink, and an even harder scowl on his features. "Idiot. Let me do something. Or-- put it in me, that's fine."

"Nah," Galo shook his head. "But! If you insist, I do want to try something. Lie back."

Lio looked uncertain, and Galo tried to offer a reassuring smile. It wasn't working. Lio seemed to like control, or at least knowing what was happening. The kind of guy who probably hated surprise parties. Still, he followed instruction, and Galo immediately went for Lio's legs, hands hooked under his knees to draw them upwards.

The first time he saw Lio's legs, clad in pointy armor, had been terrifying. Minutes later they were bound in skintight leather and way hotter than anyone's legs had any right to be, burnish or not. Naked, they were also perfect. Not the smooth, well-maintained legs of a woman who would show them off to catch attention, but from a distance no one would know it. There was hair but it was fine and so lightly colored it may as well have been invisible. His skin was smooth and pretty.

 ~~In the engine room, crumbling away, he~~ … No.

He pressed a kiss to Lio's shin and moved up to his knee, moving his hips against Lio's thigh even though he hadn't even undressed yet. "Is it too cold?" He thought to ask, belatedly.

Lio hesitated, watching carefully, but shook his head. "It's fine for now."

"Let me know if it gets bad, okay?" He waited for Lio to nod before continuing, pushing Lio's legs back almost to his stomach, mouthing at his ankle and kissing it reverently. He knew Lio was strong with fire, and quick with it, but he hadn't been neglecting his body all that time; he was small but every bit of him seemed to be muscle. He was fantastic. "Hold your legs together?" he suggested, voice lower as he finally lowered his pants just enough, using just enough lube to make it easier.

Lio finally realized what he was doing and gave him a look, but he did press his thighs together. "You're so weird."

"Yep. Number one weirdest firefighting idiot right here," Galo agreed, pushing his cock between Lio's legs with a grunt. "You're still sleeping with me, so you must be into one of those things."

He was so smooth and lovely, and his cheeks reddened again at Galo's words, like he'd either never thought about it, or at least he'd never admit it. That was fine.

Galo hugged an arm around Lio's knees and started moving his hips, thrusting between Lio's thighs without holding back. He'd been turned on for a while, watching Lio be all sexy and cute in his lap, so he didn't need to waste time on buildup, just fuck it out of his system so Lio could be satisfied that they'd both finished and gotten something out of it.

Lio's entire body was pushed closer to the headboard with every thrust of Galo's hips, and he raised his arms above his head to make sure he didn't actually injure himself. Then he started to squirm like he was getting worked up again, and he chewed his bottom lip, his eyes locked on Galo's face. It really was ridiculous, how attractive Lio could be; he probably wasn't even trying. The bastard.

A handful of hard thrusts and he grunted again, coming all over Lio's thighs and the shirt he was wearing.

Lio stared.

"Sorry," Galo managed, sort-of laughing sheepishly as he let go of Lio's legs. "I'll do the laundry in the morning for you. Promise."

"It's not--" Lio started to protest, and Galo had a feeling it wasn't about the laundry. "...Thank you. I'd appreciate it," he amended quietly, lowering his legs and accepting the box of tissues from Galo to quickly clean himself up. "Will you show me how to use the machine?"

"Of course! We'll go right after breakfast."

He helped Lio re-dress himself, and laid down with his arm outstretched for Lio to use as a pillow if he'd like, when he joined him. And he did, quietly moving in close to Galo's chest and taking a deep breath.

Not for the first time, Galo admitted to himself that Lio was _dangerous_. It was a very different situation from before though, and he was a foolhardy sort who loved the danger. _Loved_ it.

He chased sleep for a few minutes by petting a hand through Lio's hair, and once he heard Lio's breathing change, he finally dozed off, himself.


	4. Day 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm taking next week off from updates to work on a zine piece and Trail Blazing. 💖
> 
> @covetedthrone on twitter

As was probably normal, Lio was being a little moody the next day. It wasn't that the day was treating him so badly; Galo helped him get his clothes washed in the tiny basement laundry room of his apartment building, and taught him how to make some simple things so he could help more with feeding the burnish.

They were setting up a lean-to at the side of the community kitchen building. Shabby but usable. It didn't need to be there for long, just until they'd gotten enough set up to work better at the site. It was nothing interesting, none of their camp was, but they were aiming for 'functional', and that worked out well.

Lio's problems were more personal. That was _new_ to him, since he'd never bothered being close to anyone after awakening as a burnish. Sure, he'd been close to his parents, but those ties were severed in fire, ashes left in the past. Galo… Was becoming _special_ , and Lio didn't know what to do about it.

He didn't want to keep thinking about it, but Galo was wearing a simply gorgeous expression the night before while fucking between Lio's legs. It was so stupid. Lio couldn't stop watching his face, brows furrowed with a bead of sweat slithering down his nose. Hair clinging to his dampened skin. His pretty blue eyes in the dark, fierce and focused, dim city lights from the window highlighting the shapes of his body. Lio wanted to see more of him. He wanted to keep coming back to Galo's bedroom and keep offering himself up just to get that kind of eyeful.

Galo had been his type from the start, of course, at least physically. He never thought they'd see eye-to-eye in the beginning, but it seemed that they got along swimmingly after all. And he was becoming attached, which was _frustrating_.

"The boyfriend-shirt look is good on you, Boss," Gueira teased him gently, nudging his shoulder while he moved to help him lift what would be a makeshift wall of worn-in sheet metal they'd scavenged from the crash site.

"Not my boyfriend," Lio corrected, swiftly. Possibly too swiftly.

"It's just the big hoodie you've got on, it looks good."

Lio glared at him.

"Are you still that cold?" Meis nudged his other shoulder. "Is it not _any_ better?"

Lio shook his head. "I'm fine. I'll hold this if you secure it in place," he said, trying to change the topic back to more important things. They both followed instruction on each side of the metal sheet, but they didn't let up on the invasive questions.

"Do you need to stay with us at night until it gets better?"

He felt his face warm, but it wasn't enough to reduce the chill at all. "No. I'm not having this problem at night."

"You're really attached to the guy, aren't you?" Gueira asked, making Lio scowl at him.

"He saved my life. He saved all of you. Until I find a way to adequately repay him, I'll stay there." A half-truth. "What is it with you two? I've _never_ invaded your privacy this much."

"Well, neither of us started dating our former enemy, so…" Meis shrugged.

"Not _dating_ ," Lio hissed.

~~But would it be so bad?~~

"Well, if it's nothing serious, I won't worry about you so much," Meis promised, and Gueira frowned.

"We're just lookin' out for you, Boss."

"And I'm still not talking about this."

Whatever they thought about his non-relationship with Galo, it didn't matter; if the burnish weren't fighting for their lives anymore, he had the freedom to do _whatever_ he wanted in the time he wasn't spending at the crash site. Still, he spent a great portion of his off time thinking about ways to keep things running smoothly. If at night he wasted time on little dalliances with a former enemy, well... 

No, they had no reason to worry for him. He barely thought of Galo as the same moron he was when they first met. Now, he was a friend. A gentle, compassionate friend who he'd probably keep sleeping with.

And that was _his_ business, no one else's.

With their help, he finished that simple project and moved on to the next one. Whether they had access to all of the fancy equipment he wanted or not, they'd get this done, or at least as far along as they could manage. The burnish were all kinds, after all. Their numbers were diminished, but he knew for a fact that a few of them had worked in construction before their fires awakened and chased them out of their lives. There was no uniform burnish experience, they all had their own skills - that was why his settlement idea could've worked. Just… the rest of the burnish, all of them, would've needed to believe in them too, and even though there was only one who didn't, it was enough for it all to come crumbling down.

The entire block had been claimed by the burnish. A few standing buildings had been repurposed into homes, and nobody had come to try taking them back yet - most of the buildings belonged to Foresight, so he expected _some_ resistance, but not from anyone who could do a damn thing about it. They needed somewhere to sleep at night. He was the only one who had anywhere else to go, so protecting them in his absence was a priority.

Where Meis and Gueira had found that mattress store, they'd set up room dividers to give as many as possible some privacy. There was a crumbling office building that they were cautiously clearing out to try and make use of the ruins, maybe they could fix it later on and make apartments. It was a start, and they'd need to keep going for the burnish who were incapable of working, the ones who'd been butchered and disfigured by the Foresight Foundation. The ones who wouldn't stand a chance on their own. They would take care of each other, just as he'd wanted.

The woman and her son appeared to enjoy their post in the kitchen, so they stayed there and brought small meals out to the people working hard all day. They called him 'boss' with a pair of bright, yet tired, smiles as they offered him a sandwich.

They were all tired.

They needed more help than what they had, and he just wasn't sure how to secure it yet. Galo had already helped them once, he couldn't keep asking him - and he didn't want to give him the wrong idea about the reason Lio kept going back at night, he wasn't angling for anything.

For now, it would be okay. They'd keep working until they hit a wall.

  
  
  
  
  


"You've got to be _kidding_ me!" Aina shrieked, Lucia barely holding her back while Galo blocked off Heris, who wasn't actually doing much more than flinching meekly at every movement.

"Aina, calm down," Ignis warned her.

"This is unbelievable!" She spat, glaring at her sister coldly, "Why are you putting this in _her_ hands after how much she hurt people!"

"Because she knows how to do it," Vanessa, the standing leader of Promepolis until elections could be held, informed her.

Aina didn't have an argument for that - no one did. And maybe Galo wasn't fond of the idea either, but he knew it was probably Heris Ardebit's best chance to get back into her sister's (and the city's) good graces, so he was willing to allow it without throwing a tantrum. Honestly, Aina's behavior was a huge shock.

And she glared at Heris before turning on her heel and storming off. Galo, ever the risk-taker, followed her.

She didn't turn to face him, just walked in the direction of the burnish camp as though she could physically protect them from her sister by being there in her way.

"She should be _punished_ ," Aina said, aware that Galo was behind her.

"Yeah."

"You don't even know the half of it, Galo," she snarled, finally slowing her pace so he could catch up. "She murdered people. She's _not_ the sister I knew, she's _not_ the person I looked up to."

"...I know _exactly_ how that feels, though."

Aina flinched, and suddenly apologized, quieter. They walked together in silence for a full minute before Aina spoke up again. "She-- she told me that she overloaded the engine by leaning harder on the burnish flame. And it killed a bunch of them, I can't say how many. She could've smashed up the controls, she could've messed up the code. Anything else. But she chose to kill people instead. Like people don't even matter to her."

"You matter to her," Galo pointed out. "I know that's not what you want to hear, but… I dunno. You could remind her of who she was when you trusted her. She wasn't _always_ hiding this from you. It might matter to hear you say that."

"It won't change what she did. And it won't make it any better that she's being put in charge of the burnish now."

"Trust me, she's not going to be in charge," Galo almost laughed, imagining Lio bending to _Heris_ of all people. No, he'd be telling her what to do in no time, and if she tried arguing she'd be crushed under his boots. He was the boss.

"I don't want her anywhere near them. They deserve better."

"She developed the equipment," Galo pointed out.

"I bet Lucia could figure it out!" She argued back.

"Maybe…" Galo folded his arms. "Maybe we could ask if Lucia could be working with her? Or at least give her some kind of supervision."

"You'd better believe I won't let her have _any_ contact with the burnish by herself," Aina nodded decisively. "Besides, they'd probably murd--"

"No," Galo interrupted. "You know they wouldn't." He wouldn't let anyone say that the burnish were murderers. Yeah, they were all individuals, some of them could've killed before, but _not_ under Lio's leadership.

She paused to stare at him for a few more seconds. "Well, I'm just saying. If she got clocked in the head, she'd have it coming from them."

Galo frowned at her, but he didn't argue, since it really wasn't his place to decide who deserved what. He kind of agreed with Aina's insistence that Heris deserved to be in prison, but he wasn't going to argue for it. His feelings were conflicted. She'd brought him a last meal and he thought he could see some conflict on her face at the time, too. But it was dark in that cell, and his mind had been playing tricks on him…

"I'm going to help the burnish myself," Aina declared, not slowing her pace in the slightest. "You can tell Ignis for me. Or better yet, join me."

"Yeah, I'll help!" He brightened, and she gave him a look, but said nothing about it. "I guess step one will be telling Lio that they're getting extra equipment to make things easier. That'll make him happy."

"...You're invested in his happiness, huh?"

"Yeah, he's my friend."

"A friend you make pancakes for. Is he still at your place?"

"When he wants to be," Galo tilted his head and she looked like she was trying not to laugh for a second there.

"So," She started, seemingly cheered up at the very least, "Is he your type?"

Galo froze for a moment. He'd been in this situation before; it was delicate and awkward to try and sidestep any indication that they might be sleeping together. That was the usual course, anyway. Most of his partners would deny it publicly after all, so it was better to stick with a 'just a friend' comment and shrug it off.

He felt reluctant to do that this time, and his face warmed considerably.

"No! I mean, sure, he's attractive, but you think so too, right?"

Her eyes narrowed playfully, but he was pretty sure she bought it. "I heard you kissed him."

"It was CPR!"

"Sure it was," She teased again, her footsteps lighter. If picking on him lifted her mood, he was okay with it. He was always okay with it, a good sport about teasing.

He pouted about it, but didn't say anything that would've proven a point.

They approached what was to be named the burnish district, and it was honestly rather impressive how much they'd managed without real equipment; sure, it looked like a shantytown, but still like a town nonetheless. Structures were placed near the crash site, and though they were crude they looked sturdy enough to hold up for a few months while they built _proper_ housing. They'd do for now. Hopefully Lio would feel a bit better leaving the burnish here while staying at Galo's place.

Lio's pretty blond head was easy to spot in spite of how short he was. Must have been that commanding presence of his. Even in the too-big clothing, he gave a simple gesture in a direction and three people rushed to follow it. He was such a powerful leader, even though as far as Galo could tell, Lio was feeling uncomfortable with it. His stance was tall (well, as tall as he could be), movements sure; and yet, there was something off. His head looked downward more often. The proud guy he'd piloted with would've raised paper to his level to read it, he wouldn't lower his chin.

Or maybe he was reading too much into it. That was entirely possible.

Aina called out a greeting to him and waved and Lio waved back, hesitantly. He didn't move toward them, but waited for them to approach him. "How's it going out here? Anything we can help out with?" She was being overly bubbly to try and be friendly with him, and Galo had a feeling that was exactly the wrong way to endear oneself to Lio Fotia, but Aina could hold her own, she'd figure it out.

"There's nothing…" Lio said warily, but glanced over at Galo as if to silently ask what they were doing with a look of unease.

"Looks like you'll be getting some equipment to help you guys out," Galo said with a smile. The corner of Lio's mouth twitched. "Uh, don't get too excited about it yet. It's coming with some extra baggage."

Lio simply waited to hear him continue.

"W-well, it's Foresight Foundation tech, so my sister was recruited to help you with it…" Aina admitted. When Lio looked confused, she added, "Heris Ardebit. She's my sister."

Shadows fell over Lio's eyes as he looked down and bit back his reaction. Ah, Galo recognized it somehow. If he had fire, he'd be burning.

"She won't hurt any of you. We won't let her."

"She shouldn't be anywhere _near_ us."

"I know," Aina agreed, "If it was up to me she'd be in--" When Lio's gaze snapped in her direction she stopped immediately. He had that kind of power over people.

"She was a bogeyman to my people. Campfire horror stories that would make your skin crawl. Anyone who survived the foundation knew she earned that reputation. Bringing her here is going to help _no one_." Lio maintained a very level tone, and quietly took a moment to adjust the gloves he'd been given. "For what it's worth, Aina Ardebit, it astounds me that someone like you is related to that monster."

"No one is more surprised than I am…" Aina bowed her head. "Let's just… learn to use the equipment and then make her leave. We'll figure out a way."

Aina missed it, but Lio had just admitted liking her, indirectly. That brought Galo's smile back, and he crossed his arms while looking between them proudly. "Yeah, don't worry. I'll come along and make sure she keeps her distance. And you can bet Aina won't let her do anything."

"I will literally hogtie her every morning so she's stuck at home if I have to!"

Lio actually cracked a smile at that. "Well, hopefully you won't have to."

A few seconds passed before anyone spoke up again, and rather than stand there awkwardly Galo decided to ask again, "So, where can we help?"

Lio looked back at him, his expression far softer than it had been a minute before. "The equipment that we're getting, is that what he was using in the-- what was it you named his robot?"

"Krayzor X!" He said it loudly, and struck a pose.

"Right. That stupid thing. Is that what we'll have access to?"

Galo didn't know, so he looked to Aina.

"Um, As long as my sister knows how to use it, we'll have access to it here, from what I understand." She said, tapping her chin. "And she developed most of his stuff, I think?"

He wondered if Lio was okay with her saying 'we' like she was part of it; Lio often separated the burnish from others in order to protect them, and maybe Galo expected him to argue for that now, but instead, Lio seemed happier.

"Then-- You can help clear out space? We'll need plumbing all along that block--" he gestured behind him "--and we could even put together a plot of land for produce, so we'll be that much closer to providing for ourselves…"

The excitement was cute, but… "You know you don't have to do that now, right?" Galo pointed out, "I mean, you'll be able to get groceries the same as everyone else. Nobody's banning you from the supply."

Lio fell silent and watched his face thoughtfully. "I hope you're right. But to get us started, we need to become self-sufficient. We have nothing of our own anymore, no money, no jobs or homes. We can't rely on the kindness of the same people who would've called Freeze Force on us if we were caught in the city two weeks ago."

"Of course I'm right! And it's not like you guys are really all that different from anyone else now, right?"

"Some of us are safe. Many of us never will be. They'll wear the scars of the Foresight Foundation for the rest of their lives."

Galo swallowed hard and nodded. He'd seen enough while they were rescuing the burnish. Their bodies had been crumbling apart and the promare were no longer around to fix the damage, pieces missing in varying amounts. It was horrific. "You're right. Sorry. But you know you've got allies, right? Even if you haven't met all of them yet."

Lio looked down in a subtle agreement, "The people of this city… The burnish are unlikely to trust them."

"I have a feeling that if you showed trust in someone, the rest of the burnish would trust them too," Aina spoke up from the edge of the conversation, as if trying to remind them she was there. She'd done that before, trying to temper their enthusiasm when they found Prometh's lab.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Galo agreed, ruffling Lio's hair (an action Lio quite clearly hated). "Let's get started cleaning this place up."

Both Aina and Lio showed a sort of cautious optimism when they agreed, and they worked together smoothly through the rest of the day. Galo was especially delighted to meet more of the burnish, and played with some of the kids whenever he felt like a break had been earned (and he mentally noted to call the orphanage that he'd been raised in. Maybe he could put in a good word for the burnish kids and get them into a better living situation).

Rather than go home for dinner that night, he and Lio took kitchen duty, giving the others a break. Lio was a quick study, and managed to make simple meals without hurting himself or anyone else. Galo wasn't used to making food in such quantities, barely used to cooking for two. 

Throughout the day, Galo realized that he'd never seen Lio smile that way before. The way he smiled at the other burnish was special, and… something about that made Galo just a _little_ jealous.

And yet, Lio still went home with him that night.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Along with the constant coldness, Lio had been trying to adjust to one other side effect of losing the promare, and that was being sore. The trembling made it worse, his muscles and joints achingly tender.

When they got back to Galo's apartment, Lio wanted nothing more than to drop on the bed and sleep, but it felt early for that. Plus, he was kind of gross after working all day and desperately needed a shower. At least they'd already eaten (and he'd been pleased with himself for managing the kitchen. He wasn't as good as Galo yet, but hopefully he could be, and maybe he'd be more useful to the burnish).

Galo sat beside him and ruffled his hair, rudely, earning a scowl.

"Want a shower?"

"Yes," Lio answered. "I'm too tired to move."

Galo grinned at him and grabbed around his waist, lifting him up. Lio didn't like that any more than the first time Galo had pulled such a stunt, so he tried thrashing his way out of Galo's arms with a yelp and Galo just pulled him up onto his shoulder. "We'll take one together," he said, "It'll be fine."

He was set down on the side of the tub and Galo started running the water to warm it up. It wasn't that Lio didn't trust him, obviously, but he didn't know how much either of them could be trusted to keep their hands to themselves. At least… That's how Lio felt. He wasn't sure Galo felt the same way, but he'd at least been receptive.

"Want to try a bath instead?" Galo offered. "I think it can be a bit more relaxing. There's probably enough space for both of us."

Imagining it, Lio flushed. It was not a large bathtub, they would be cramped. It wasn't new territory, they'd seen each other naked, but something about it was somewhat unnerving. The relaxation part was tempting, though, and he nodded. "I'd rather not do anything tonight," he blurted out, not quite a warning. Was he too fickle? No, he was allowed to be tired and sore and still accept Galo's company without that level of intimacy, wasn't he?

"Yeah, makes sense," Galo agreed, "We don't have to sleep together every night you're here, you know. If it's a comfort thing for both of us, it's fine without anything more than, y'know, sleeping."

Lio nodded once. He knew that was the arrangement, but he also assumed… well, that didn't matter.

"I could add bubbles! Aw man, have you ever tried a bubble bath? It's so fun."

When Lio said he hadn't, Galo wore a wide, way-too-giddy smile and poured something under the faucet as the tub filled up. The water was covered with foam in seconds and Lio couldn't possibly have felt more concerned in that moment. He assumed it was a weird soap, and he hoped he was right.

Galo started to peel his clothing off and dumped it on the floor, and hesitantly, Lio started to follow suit. He'd never actually undressed in front of someone before. Galo had always been so considerate, letting him leave layers on so he would stay warm even while they had sex. It was a different kind of awkward, but he figured Galo wouldn't care. He'd seen all of Lio at different points in time, after all. And he'd seen plenty of others…

The enthusiasm Galo had for such a simple thing was incredible. He climbed in first, reacting like it was way too hot for him (probably for Lio's sake) by flinching. But he sank into the water with a sigh and held out a hand for Lio to join him, and Lio took it, stepping in carefully and marveling at how warm it was. He liked hot showers, they were probably a highlight of his time staying with Galo, and the bath seemed just as comforting, but the water was still.

Galo pulled him onto his lap impatiently and stuck his tongue out. "Feels great, right?"

Lio nodded, still quiet. He still didn't understand what the foaming was for, but that was an interesting touch. "How do you wash your hair like this?"

"Well, sometimes I'll run the shower to get the rest of me when I'm done relaxing," Galo explained, "But if I had a bigger tub, I'd just dunk my head under like I did as a kid."

"You do this to relax often?"

Galo didn't answer right away, grabbing some soap and lathering it onto his hands, then on Lio's shoulders while he thought about his answer. Lio didn't complain even though he felt that he ought to. It was nice. "When I'm stuck at home alone, I do whatever I need to do to relax before bed," he answered finally. "Sometimes it helps."

"But company works best for you?"

"Yeah," Galo agreed.

Lio had a feeling that even if they were facing each other, Galo wouldn't be meeting his eyes. "There's no shame in it." He wasn't sure what the right words to say were, but he knew what he thought of it. "Life isn't perfect for anyone, and you've had a lot to grow up with. I have nightmares too, sometimes. On the run, I didn't have the opportunity to combat them, though."

Galo gave it another few seconds of thought and started scrubbing at Lio's back. "Well, who knows! Maybe company is helpful to you, too."

"Perhaps it will be."

He felt Galo's smile against his skin like a sunbeam, though he wasn't facing it to see. How odd.

They fell silent, and on Lio's side it was due to drowsiness. He leaned back against Galo's chest without much thought, and just enjoyed the way his body warmed up. Eventually, Galo had the showerhead in hand and turned it on, carefully washing Lio's hair and rinsing him off, but even after he was clean he didn't want to get out until the water lost enough of its heat that he shivered.

Galo bundled him into a towel and gave him some clothes to wear, and Lio couldn't decide if he hated being pampered or not. Maybe just this once he'd give it a pass, because Galo genuinely seemed happy to do it. Like that was all he wanted, not the company to sleep with. Something more like a partner. Lio knew that wasn't him, but he couldn't be blamed for enjoying it, could he? While he was there, while his company was desired, he could enjoy himself.

He fell asleep the moment he laid down and closed his eyes. It was still too early, because he woke again around eleven-thirty, Galo's phone buzzing on the nightstand and Galo snoring away peacefully through it.

It would have been a massive overstep to answer, but he reached for it. The caller ID read with simply the letter "B", and showed a picture of a handsome man, tall and muscular. No one Lio recognized.

…

Yeah, it was an overstep. He unlocked the phone with the pattern he remembered Galo showing him that first morning and said sharply, "It's late, try later."

He hung up before the man could answer. It wasn't his business anyway. He just wanted to phone to stop making noise - that was all it was. Really. He set it back down and it chimed with a text, but Lio ignored it and rolled over to face Galo, who woke up at some point, snug against his chest.

"Everything okay?" Galo asked, sleepy.

"Mm," Lio answered.

The man in the picture had been so manly-looking. Basically the opposite of Lio himself, and it made him feel a bit weird. Galo rubbed his back tiredly, comforting as could be, but it didn't do anything to calm his mind. He was probably nothing like Galo's usual taste, if that was the kind of guy calling him at that late hour.

He pushed closer, hugging tight around Galo's body. "I changed my mind."

"'Bout what?"

"Sex."

Galo made a confused, tired noise and leaned back to look Lio in the face. "Uh. Everything okay?"

"Yeah. I just want to," He answered simply, unable to find an explanation more honest than that. He couldn't explain it to himself either. "If you want to, I mean."

Galo looked slightly troubled, but not unhappy. He was trying to figure it out, because he could tell there was more to it. But if Lio didn't know the answer, how would Galo be able to figure it out? "Yeah… Yeah, okay. If you need help getting back to sleep, I totally get it."

Lio almost protested - that wasn't why, but since he didn't have anything better to say he kept it to himself.

"What do you wanna do, then?" Galo asked, sitting up. Lio sat upright with him, looking down at the sheets.

"I want you to show me what you like. What I can do for you, this time."

When he turned his head back up, Galo's cheeks had reddened. It was a cute reaction. He was always so selfless in bed, never pushing too far, it was frustrating in a way. Lio wanted to know how to be a better bed partner. That wasn't so odd, was it? "...Sure, okay. Uh," Galo rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully and glanced aside. "You remember what I did to you? With my fingers, I mean."

Lio nodded.

"That. I still think it's too soon for you to handle it, but I think I'd like it if you had the lead, if you want to try it." He didn't have to act weirdly bashful about it. It was cute, though. "Since you're the one who found all this energy all of a sudden," he added, apparently as a tease.

With a few seconds of hesitation, Lio nodded again and reached into the drawer in the nightstand to grab Galo's lube bottle. One look at the condoms and he paused again. "...Will I really be enough for you?" He asked, not necessarily embarrassed by his size, but… Well, every part of him was smaller than a man like "B" was. The guy probably had a huge dick and Lio was probably less than average. Not that he had much reference there.

For whatever reason, he would've felt devastated to leave Galo unsatisfied. One look at the condom size Galo stocked up on told him he'd probably disappoint.

"You're more than enough," Galo insisted, so sincere that Lio's face warmed. "C'mon, you're hot as hell, you know that, right?"

Lio's eyes widened and his face flushed. "I-- I don't know what your tastes are," he argued, then gestured at the drawer with the supplies in it, "Attractive or not, those probably won't fit me."

Galo laughed, and Lio's embarrassment turned into a glare. "You'll be fine. Trust me. They're more one-size-fits-all than you'd expect."

Lio frowned, and pulled one from the box, looking at the width of the wrapper skeptically. "If you say so," he said, finally leaning over Galo to kiss him. He'd come to understand that as the beginning of the ritual: a kiss, then wandering hands, then he'd have to rely on Galo to tell him what to do. Hopefully that last step would change.

He rested one hand on Galo's chest, his other finding Galo's hand and holding it for a moment, though he wasn't sure if he was seeking reassurance or what. Maybe he just liked Galo's hands. No, he knew he did. He liked a lot of Galo. The way he stared at Galo's body sometimes, it wasn't _all_ jealousy. He'd trace over the lines of his muscles with his eyes, and at least in the bedroom, when they did this, he had the chance to do it with his hands too. Every part of him was so _firm_ and yet relaxed under Lio's fingers.

"Somethin' you like?" Galo teased, right against Lio's mouth.

He took that to mean he was being too obvious. "You know, you're the one who shows off your body _constantly_ ," Lio pointed out, pushing Galo flat on his back and leaning over him. "You have _no_ right to give me any crap for indulging."

Galo chuckled. "Yeah, that's fair. Admire all you want. I worked hard on it!"

Lio stared down at his goofy face for a second, then nodded. "Yeah. Obviously," he murmured, leaning down and pressing lips to Galo's skin, right under his collar, nuzzling against his pectorals and taking a deep breath. He smelled like body wash, which was less interesting than he'd hoped it'd be. "Do you like this sort of thing?"

"Being admired? Duh. Have we met?"

Lio rolled his eyes, but he didn't stop. He licked Galo's nipple and was delighted to see the response, his muscles tensing in surprise. Good. In spite of exposure, he was sensitive. Even if Lio only had a vague sense of what he was doing, he was determined to explore, and make it worthwhile for both of them. "Tell me what feels good," He demanded, right before taking a bite - he wasn't stupid enough to leave marks, Galo walked around shirtless too much and he really didn't need to draw attention to what they were up to at night, but he wondered if Galo might like it, and judging by the little gasp and the way he squirmed under Lio, he must be doing it right.

He trailed his fingers down his torso, and heard Galo giggle lightly. If he was _ticklish_ that opened a whole world of possibilities-- for another day, perhaps. Still, Lio filed it away and slipped one of his hands down the front of Galo's pants, a wet spot on his wrist told him he was doing something very right.

"Shit, why are your hands so cold," Galo whined.

"Should warm up fast in here," Lio teased, wrapping his fingers around Galo's dick and making him flinch again. Truly, it was so cozy and warm in there. "Or, maybe faster inside of you?"

Galo cursed under his breath and pushed his hair out of his face. "Yeah, try it. Where'd you put--"

Lio withdrew his hand and grabbed the lube, and Galo took the opportunity to pull his pants off. Made sense. Lio was the cold one, he was the one who had to work around clothes, not Galo, who was apparently quite comfortable naked. He kept the temperature high for Lio's comfort, after all. Firefighter or not, he shouldn't have to be dealing with too much heat at home, so Lio felt appropriately guilty even if he'd never asked for it.

He wasn't a very good judge, but he guessed the lube was cold based on how Galo reacted when Lio touched him with it. Well, that would probably warm up faster than Lio would, so he'd just have to deal if he wanted to move forward. More importantly, he found almost no resistance when he pushed his fingers inside, just as Galo had done to him. He recalled it stinging at first, feeling way too tight, but Galo was already pliant, and seemed used to it, to some degree.

He shuddered and covered his eyes with his wrist, "A little-- yeah, that's--"

Even if he wasn't speaking in full sentences, Lio found what he was reacting to. It was barely noticeable, but he pressed against it with curled fingers and Galo gasped and trembled. What a sight.

"Your fingers are slender," Galo said with a shaky voice, "So, keep going?"

A part of him felt annoyed, wanting to point out _see, I wasn't enough for you_ , but he bit it back and worked a third finger in. If nothing else, he was pretty sure he could find that spot inside of him with his dick, so maybe he'd been worried for nothing after all.

It was just…

Galo had been really good to him. They were just friends, sure, but that didn't mean this had to be one-sided, Galo showing him the ropes and leaving himself hanging.

He leaned over him again and kissed him, sliding his tongue past parted lips. Galo made a muffled noise against his mouth, but it wasn't a complaint so Lio didn't back off yet. The first time they kissed it had just felt sloppy and kind of weird, but he was finally finding the pleasure in it, the needy way Galo's mouth moved against his. It was almost sweet.

He tried his best to reach for the condom one-handed, but ultimately failed. "About ready?" He asked before removing his fingers, and got a slurred 'uh-huh' in response, which was honestly better than real words. The tiny, pleading noise he made in the back of his throat when Lio pulled his fingers out was even more telling. "You really like this, huh?"

"Yeah," Galo managed, "You're a natural."

It was more a relief than a boost to his pride, but he accepted the compliment with a grin and kissed him again, quickly, while he arranged his clothing to let barely a sliver of skin exposed to the cold, and slipped on the condom. It didn't feel as snug as he thought it should, but he was sure it would stay in place as Galo told him.

"All set?" Galo asked him, propping himself up on an elbow to see. Lio nodded, taking a few extra seconds to position himself, somewhat nervous but not really enough to hinder him. He pushed inside slowly, watching Galo's face for any sign of discomfort and not finding any. Instead he just laid back down and groaned, squirming pleasantly. "At least that part of you isn't freezing." It might have been another tease, but the crack in his voice made it sound pitifully sincere.

And yeah, it was good he wasn't actually freezing, 'cause without a doubt Galo would make him melt. Seeing where he disappeared into him, it was too tempting. He tried moving; it wasn't as easy as he assumed it would be to actually _aim_ himself, but he eventually found a good angle that made Galo shiver. "Is this okay?"

"Yeah. Keep it up." Galo almost sounded demanding, which was cute. Lio moved his hips with more force behind it and Galo let out a yelp that dissolved into a satisfied hiss. "S-see? A natural…"

"You talk too much," Lio chided him, doing it again, and again and repeating until Galo whined loudly.

He murmured Lio's name, and it seemed unnatural, like he was just testing it out. Like he'd never said Lio's name before, but that wasn't right at all. He used it with more confidence a few seconds later, and Lio murmured Galo's name in response, leaning closer.

"Galo," he said, softly against the skin of Galo's chest. He was focused, trying not to get carried away with himself. "I want to make you feel good, but if my hands are too cold--"

"Y-you're good enough like this."

A nice sentiment, but Lio was still inexperienced and doubted he'd last long enough. Not that he'd say it so bluntly. "I want to see it," he said, nipping at his skin and reaching for Galo's hand, guiding it between them so that Galo could touch himself. He wouldn't beg, and he didn't think Galo would make him.

Sure enough, he caved, squeezing his eyes shut and rubbing his cock while Lio kept thrusting inside of him. He didn't have much enthusiasm in his hand, but he didn't seem to need it, swallowing down Lio's name following a string of curses. Lio accepted that as a signal that he was close, and he stopped concentrating so hard on his own control.

Because it was so hot inside of Galo and he'd never done this before, so it ought to be something that made him more nervous than it did. He supposed he'd gotten comfortable, which was maybe a good thing. 

He wanted to know exactly what Galo was feeling like, too. Maybe that was weird, but there were tears lining Galo's eyes and he looked so _thrilled_ … He'd felt good inside when Galo touched him. He hoped he was doing half as well. He gripped Galo's thigh as he finished, his limbs feeling weak and tense all at once. Luckily Galo came at about the same time, making a mess over his stomach and breathing unsteadily.

He fumbled for the tissues but his arms were weak and threatened to give out the moment he pulled away, so it fell on Galo to clean himself up and Lio struggled with his own mess. He would've been embarrassed if Galo drew attention to that momentary weakness, but he seemed to know better.

After tossing trash into the bin and straightening his clothing out, Galo grabbed him around the shoulders and tugged him under blankets again with a deep sigh into his hair. He thought about protesting, but he was warm and relaxed and decided against it.

"Y'know, if you're worried about your size--"

"Tread carefully, Thymos," He warned. He wasn't being serious.

"Well, I just mean-- I know I'm bigger than average? But you shouldn't compare to me! For your height and stuff, you're probably better than average too, I think?"

"Shut up," he tried rolling his eyes but Galo couldn't see it.

"And there was this one guy I used to meet at the gym - I think he did steroids, and I don't mess with that kinda thing so we don't really talk anymore. But he was this huge, muscular guy, way bigger than me--"

"Your point, Galo."

"Yeah, well, what they say about steroids shrinking your junk? Probably true, as it turns out."

Lio snorted, relaxing again in Galo's grip. "You're so dumb."

"Yep. And you feel warmer now."

"Yeah," Lio agreed, snuggling close. "Thanks, for that."

He felt Galo's breathing on his scalp, and felt a festering, sinking feeling in his chest. He couldn't identify what it was, too inexperienced, but he knew it was stupid to get caught up in it.


	5. Day 5

Though the street had been cleared and leveled just for construction to start with Heris at the helm, the first sight that greeted them when they arrived was crude graffiti on the wall of the kitchen, calling for death to all burnish. Not a great start to the day, but Lio seemed undeterred and immediately started gathering supplies to clean it off.

There were some symbols that Galo found suspicious, but he didn't remark on them. They'd be scrubbed away soon.

Instead, he spent much more time watching Lio than he was proud of. He was glad Ignis had allowed him and Aina to work with the burnish, possibly as a gesture of goodwill, but honestly he wasn't sure how much help he was being. He could pilot Lucia's gear, and the Lio de Galon had been pretty user-friendly, but Heris had her own design style that made things needlessly complicated, and while he was doing his best to adapt, he wasn't entirely successful yet.

Lio still had faith in him. Every now and then he'd look at him with a gentle, encouraging smile and tell him it was okay, and he should try again.

And then he'd stare at that smile and feel his face warm up. He wasn't used to spending the day with people he slept with, and people he knew he was going to take home again, so maybe that was all it was. Plus, Lio had been kind of… _needy_ , the night before. Not the best word for it, but Galo didn't know a better one. And he'd probably caused it in the first place. What kind of idiot washes their friend's hair? Apparently Galo was that kind of idiot, and he'd enjoyed the hell out of it.

The machinery he was working with, according to Heris (who was standing behind him meekly), was meant to build foundations for housing. It was a lot more complicated than regular construction gear. Apparently, it was going to be used to build a colony for Kray, so it had to be way more involved.

It was still cool to watch it spit out hot iron and cement and whatever that plastic-looking stuff was. It created an intricate web of materials that needed to be filled in after a twelve hour cooling period, but it was obviously a tidy little building in the making, like a set of row houses along the street.

And when he looked at Lio after those were built, he saw his eyes sparkling proudly.

It was one of the nicest expressions he'd ever seen on him - and Lio was a very expressive person, more than he'd know. The outright joy he shared with the former burnish at times, the sadness he showed when discussing the dead. The studious expression he wore that night, leaning over Galo and trying to figure things out for himself. Beautifully expressive. Galo was doing his best not to think about it.

Aina had been working with that pile-driver device, and getting pipes in place for proper irrigation. She'd met some former burnish with experience in the field and was getting along well with them, listening to their expertise without question and earning their trust in the process.

"...I'm also supposed to be doing medical check-ups…" Heris said quietly. "To make sure that the burnish will recover from any lasting effects of the promare."

"We're fine with you staying away from us," Lio snapped at her. She flinched, but nodded, and Galo frowned. No, Heris wasn't exactly trustworthy, but it was hard not to feel sorry for someone who was cowed as she was. Whatever Aina had said to her had pushed her into this state, and Aina could be pretty scary when she was pissed off.

"It'd probably be good if that sort of thing does happen, though," Galo pointed out, "If not Aina's sis, who d'you think would be best for the job?"

"There were doctors who became burnish. We can take care of ourselves."

"Got it," Galo agreed, kickstarting the machine back to life with a wide grin, "You're gonna need a medical center for that, aren't you?"

"Hell yes," Lio agreed, "Show me how to do it myself."

...Maybe it was foolish.

Yeah, it was probably a dumb idea, but he had Lio in his lap, learning the controls for the rest of the morning. Somehow he'd managed to erase Heris's presence from Lio's mind in that time.

  
  
  
  


Lio was feeling stiff, and he didn't _think_ it had anything to do with any activity from the night before, but he couldn't discount it either. His shoulder was hard to move without dull pain.

"It's normal, I think," Gueira told him, with a mouth full of food. "You're working too hard, so your body is trying to make you rest."

"You've been burnish too long to know what that's like, I'm guessing?" Meis asked, rotating his water bottle as though he was interested in reading the label.

They'd never discussed awakenings. Oftentimes, the moment a burnish found their fire was a terrible memory for them, something remembered with shame and regret. Too often they awoke in a fit of rage, or nervousness, too often surrounded by people who would become victims of the flames. Most burnish knew what it felt like to harm or kill someone, and it was _rarely_ on purpose.

"I was pretty young," Lio admitted.

"It also gets worse when you get older," Gueira needlessly added. "And colder. Since you're still feeling cold, that might be it."

"Still?" Meis asked, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

Lio nodded, but said nothing to make his worry even worse. He didn't want to make a big deal out of it until all of the burnish were safe and comfortable as he was every night. And since he was warm at night, it couldn't be that bad. The pain was a constant, but… He preferred not to think about it. A sharp ache in his body that he could still ignore.

Simply that, and nothing more.

"I'll be fine," Lio insisted, and Meis said nothing. He was likely to continue ruminating on the topic for days, but so long as it didn't get in the way of their work that would be okay. "Tomorrow, we'll have homes," he reminded them, glad of their proud reactions.

 _That_ was important, after all; they'd been at it all day, setting up for the next day's construction. It was moving so quickly that it felt unreal. Truly, befriending Galo had been a blessing in many forms. He wished more people could be so open-minded and eager to help as he and Aina had been.

The young man who enjoyed working the kitchen was taking every opportunity to stare at Lio now, admiration in his eyes on a level that Lio might have assumed was childish. While he accepted his leadership role with grace, he didn't like the idea of being held on a pedestal, and he hadn't earned any kind of celebrity status for anything _good_ he'd done. Even saving the planet with Galo, most of the credit all went to Galo in the first place and he was okay with that.

The burnish knew, though. They knew what he'd done for them, and they respected him for it, and that was more than enough, even teetering on too much, since Lio didn't particularly like the spotlight the same way Galo did.

"You gonna stay with the big guy?" Gueira asked. "You could stay with us, you know. You'll have privacy once those houses are done."

"Judging by how many of us we need to house, I don't think there will be a lot of space just yet," Lio pointed out, not blatantly confirming that he would indeed be staying with _the big guy_. "It will work out eventually, though. It's already moving so fast."

"It's a shame we couldn't keep it a burnish-only project, though," Meis added. His expression was never easy to read, but it at least seemed frustrated, or dissatisfied.

"Building those resources from scratch would have taken years, though." Lio understood the frustration. He'd always believed the burnish could accomplish everything themselves, build their own society. "Besides… The burnish have always had some allies. Not many, but some. It just so happens that these are particularly useful ones."

Gueira laughed behind his hand, and Meis cracked a half-smile.

"We have to consider what's best for everyone, not just what would be the most cathartic," Lio leaned back in his seat, dipping a piece of bread in sauce that had spilled onto his plate. "Even if that means playing nice with _her_ for a while."

"That's why you're Boss," Meis agreed, "I would've punched her in the face."

Gueira immediately and loudly argued that he would have done it way before Meis, as if that was a good thing. It was probably true, of course. Lio watched them playfully bicker back and forth with a smile on his face, oddly content with their lot. No, the burnish hadn't successfully built their settlement outside of the city walls, but they were thriving where they were. No one seemed to have a need to complain, everyone was finding a space where they fit seamlessly into the larger picture. He'd seen a glimpse of that community before Freeze Force attacked them, but now they had the freedom to keep it together.

If it could only _stay_ that way, this time around. Smiling, playing children running underfoot. Families seated together to eat. Nobody had to suffer anymore.

But it wasn't because they were no longer burnish - no, there would always be a fire within them that couldn't be extinguished, and their history and pain would always mark them as _different_.

Even though they suddenly had the ability to have blistered hands from a hard day's work, just as any human. Even though they were just as flammable as a human--

Which they learned, as something smashed through the window of the kitchen, igniting instantly as it shattered on a tabletop.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Only minutes after arriving at the station and checking in with Ignis, Galo was dispatched with the rest of the team. It was especially troubling to hear where they were headed, and see pitch-black smoke in an ugly cloud above the burnish community.

While Galo wasn't the best at math, he was quick on his feet in emergencies; he did a quick mental headcount and knew not everyone was outside. Luckily, the fire hadn't consumed the entire building, but it had clearly done a number on it. Scorch marks were trailing upwards from busted windows, and it looked like a great deal of furniture had suffered. Flickering firelight was still visible, but… Not enough to do all that.

And Lio wasn't out to safety, which was Galo's immediate concern (and heroes weren't supposed to play favorites. Still…)

Ignoring orders, Galo was the first to rush in, finding Meis putting out a small blaze eating away at the countertops calmly. He gestured out the back door.

"We burnish have things under control," he said, not kindly but not with malice either. "The boss went through the back."

It was a _huge_ relief. "Thanks!" He beamed at him, offering a friendly wave as he hurried through the building, noting small live embers but nothing so immediate a threat that he needed to worry. "You'd make a good firefighter, y'know?"

"I _don't_ know," Meis answered dryly, but Galo went right past him without acknowledging it. He seemed sour. Maybe he'd try again on a better day. Also, Galo was pretty sure Meis had just flipped him off.

The alleyway behind the kitchen was barren, covered in dirt rather than any type of pavement. Bits of dry weeds here and there, nothing special. Lio was there, leaned over the young man from the kitchen with trembling hands. His head whipped around to see Galo and he looked desperate, eyes damp.

"Galo," He said, as calmly as he could manage (which wasn't much), "I don't know how to do this as a normal person-- Only as a burnish--"

Galo took a knee at his side and saw the former burnish was unconscious, and didn't seem to be breathing.

"Okay," Galo cut in before Lio could start begging for help, which he was ready to do. "Okay, watch what I do carefully. You should learn this."

Lio nodded, a fierce expression replacing the desperation that hadn't suited him, and he focused hard on Galo's every move.

Truthfully, in practice it wasn't so different from when he'd given Lio's flame back to him, though he knew the burnish could skip a few steps. Lio hadn't tilted that girl's head back, didn't worry about timing as far as he could tell, but Galo had done every step the same as he was trained to do, just with the addition of a calm, soothing fire between their mouths.

Lio's fire had a flavor to it, if he remembered right. Something sweet and robust. It had been hard to register that in the moment though, because Lio was dying and Galo was doing everything he could not to panic, every bit of his simple mind focused on reviving his newfound ally and friend.

The young man coughed right into Galo's mouth, which would have been gross if it wasn't a good thing. Lio crowded him again to help him sit up, and Galo sat back and watched now, because the soft way Lio interacted with the burnish was something worth seeing, and not something Galo had earned for himself yet.

"Are you okay now?" Lio asked him, and the young man grasped Lio's hands.

"You saved me, Boss?" His voice was hoarse and strained, his eyes sparkling with hope, and honestly Galo would have been absolutely fine letting Lio take credit for it.

"No," Lio shook his head calmly. "Galo did it. I failed."

The young man's eyes flicked over to Galo briefly, then back to Lio, as if he was lost, or heartbroken.

"Hey--" Galo nudged Lio's shoulder "--you got him to safety. You didn't fail."

Blessedly, before Lio could argue, Gueira rounded the corner, short of breath and sweaty. "Sorry, Boss," He gasped out, "Couldn't catch'em. They had a getaway car. No plates."

"...Thank you for trying, Gueira," Lio said, a forced smile on his face. Putting the pieces together, Galo figured it must've been some kind of ambush.

"Did you see what kind of car?" Galo offered, and Gueira almost jumped out of his skin.

"Oh, shit! Hey big guy, didn't see you there."

Galo balked and Lio seemed to warm up at that. He was wearing bright orange! How could anyone miss him?

"It was uh. Kinda fancy, but I don't know the model. Been a few years since I could go car shopping."

His chest felt heavy again. While any number of people could've had expensive cars, since such a huge chunk of the city was destroyed it was hard to imagine many of those cars would still _look_ very expensive. Hopefully that would narrow down the search a little, but Galo had a feeling Lio was about to go rogue and look on his own.

The alley started to feel crowded when Remi propped open the back door and announced that the building was safe again, which was great news. They'd put so much work in, condemning it would have been devastating. Somehow still acting calm, Lio walked through the building flanked by his former generals, noting aloud the supplies they'd need to make repairs.

It wasn't fair to see this keep happening to the burnish. They deserved to feel safe and they deserved a _place_ in the world, in the city, and nobody had the right to chase them out.

When Burning Rescue left, Galo stayed behind. It wasn't so far he couldn't just jog back later. Or maybe he'd just stay, try to help recovery efforts all night. That was more his speed anyway. Shut his brain off and get to work. Stay with Lio, who likely needed more help than he was willing to admit.

It was already dark, and the lights were mostly busted and would need replacing, but they worked by lantern for a while, replacing a support beam and cracking the scorched tops of the counter off to get those re-done, too. It wasn't long before they all realized that they wouldn't be able to get much farther without daylight.

"Go home," Meis told him.

"Huh? No, I'll stick around a bit longer--"

"I was talking to both of you. You and the boss." His expression was notably softer when he looked at Lio. "You need rest. We'll take guard duty tonight."

 _Guard duty_. Nobody should need guard duty on a community of displaced refugees. That stung more than Galo wanted to admit.

"I'm fine." Of course Lio insisted, but his hands were still shaking. Either adrenaline or the cold, or both.

"No, you're not. And have him look at your shoulder," Meis fought back.

"Your shoulder? Is something wrong?"

"No," Lio hissed, but one hand grabbed his sleeve on one side, clenching fabric in his fist tightly. Well, Galo didn't think he had a free pass under Lio's clothes at the moment, but he could definitely tell something was off.

"Boss. Pride can't get in the way, right?"

Lio stared at him, looking frustrated, but nodded and held out his (good) hand, which Meis hesitantly bumped with his fist. Just by watching, Galo could tell that they usually did that with flames, not fists.

When Lio turned to leave the building, Galo followed behind him. "You wanna stay here with the burnish tonight? I could stay here with you, if you think they'll be okay trusting me."

Lio looked uncertain, but shook his head. "No. Your place is fine."

"Alright. You got to eat already?"

"Yeah."

There wasn't a whole lot of conversation as they walked together, but at least he knew Lio wasn't mad at him. Every time he tried babbling out a conversation topic, Lio made grouchy noises in response, but he was deep in thought, not really up for Galo's shenanigans. Which was totally fair. Not many people put up with Galo on their bad days. Lio was being a pretty good sport about it.

It was already so late. They needed showers though. "Hey, let's get washed up and I'll take a look at what Meis was talking about?" Galo offered, tossing his jacket over the couch.

"You don't have to," Lio mumbled, knowing that it wasn't a fight he could win. Galo would find out regardless, because he was easily just as stubborn as Lio was.

"Too bad!" Galo declared, lifting Lio by the midsection and carrying him to the bathroom. "C'mon, we can have another bubble bath! That was fun, right?"

"You-- Are you completely stupid?" Lio didn't wrestle very hard against Galo's grip, though.

"Yep!" He set Lio down in the bathroom and started running the water to warm it up. In proper lighting, Lio looked kind of filthy - no worse than Galo after a hard rescue, of course. Soot all over, ashes in his hair. Weirdly stiff. "Take off your shirt?"

Lio scowled, but pulled his shirt over his head and winced.

There was a bunch of clotted blood near his shoulder, dirty and smeared. Whatever happened, it'd definitely get infected like that. Galo grabbed a washcloth and dampened it under the faucet for a second, gesturing for Lio to come closer. "How'd this happen? Sorry, this is gonna hurt a bit. Just cleaning it up first."

Lio didn't even flinch when Galo started wiping the grime away. "A... I'm not sure what it's called. Bottle bomb? Glass shattered and hit my shoulder. Nobody else was hurt."

"Did any glass get stuck in there?"

"It was dark, but I think it's out."

With the better light, Galo carefully looked it over. It wasn't too bad, but it had been bleeding a lot before. There was a spot that warped a bit, like clean glass was resting over it. "I don't think that was all of it. Hold still, I think we can get it out without much trouble."

"Not going to force me to go to a hospital and get stitches?" Lio asked with a wry smile.

"I already guessed you'd fight a lot harder about that," Galo answered, smiling at him and grabbing his first aid kit. "Besides, this is kinda small. You shouldn't need stitches, just one of these oversized bandaids. I've got firetrucks and dalmatians, pick one!"

Lio grimaced at them instead. Their tastes were pretty different. He'd probably prefer a blank one - Galo thought he might have some solid-color ones in there too, but they were neon colors.

Meanwhile, he grabbed tweezers and held Lio's shoulder steady with a firm hand, gingerly tilting one end under the glass and clamping down on it, giving a slight pull at first. "You okay?" He asked, just to be sure.

"Yeah. Hurry up." Lio was gritting his teeth. Galo nodded, tugging the piece out at an angle that wouldn't disturb the rest of the injury. It wasn't _too_ large, but it was sharp and would've been a lot of trouble later on.

More importantly, Galo realized something when he was closer to that injury. "Lio, you feel like a corpse. You shouldn't be this cold." Even when he'd been _actually dying_ , he hadn't been that cold. Crumbling to ashes, fading out, but burning hot still.

Lio scowled at the piece of glass as he set it on the bathroom sink, then at Galo. "Not much to do but warm up, then."

"Can we please have someone with proper equipment look at you? I know you hate it, but I…"

He was scared of losing him, but that was too clingy, wasn't it? They were just supposed to be friends, after all. It wasn't like friends couldn't worry about each other, though.

"...Fine. Once the kitchen is rebuilt, I'll consent to having someone _look_."

"I won't let them experiment on you," Galo added, surprising himself by how fiercely he meant that. "I know you're worried about it, but it's not going to happen. There are no burnish anymore, so I don't think there'd be a reason for it anyway…" He trailed off because Lio's face fell. He wasn't the _easiest_ guy to read, but Galo knew he'd said something wrong. Or, not wrong, but not something Lio wanted to hear.

He didn't try to figure it out. Instead, he pulled Lio toward the tub. "Well, let's get you warmed up for now," He said, trying to add a little bit of cheer between them again.

"Yeah," Lio murmured, leaning over him with a small, almost suggestive grin on his face. "Warm me up, Thymos."

Galo hummed in agreement and threaded his fingers in Lio's hair, still full of ash. "Gotta clean up before that."

"Okay." He nudged his pants lower, kicking them off on the floor.

That eagerness was cute, Galo thought. He knew better than to say so, but he couldn't help thinking it was so different from that first night, when Lio had snarled at him for even offering to share a bed. Now he was kicking off clothes and demanding intimacy. Weirdly heartwarming.

They settled into the bath the same way they had the night before, sans bubbles, and Lio wasn't shy about seeking warmth from Galo's body. And Galo, once again, busied his hands by helping Lio clean off, washing his hair and skin, careful of the small injury. It didn't strike him as odd to do it, he just wanted to. As he had the night before, when Lio was feeling sore and tired and it was just a helpful thing to do.

Now it was… because he was injured? Yeah, that sounded right.

As the night before, he let Lio decide when to get out, even though they would be kind of pruny by the time the water cooled enough for him. It was worth it to see him relax a little, cozy up against Galo's chest. He was still deep in thought, but he was comfortable and Galo was helping, at least in some small way.

"Galo," Lio said, reaching for his hand idly.

"Hm?"

"Tonight, I want you to fuck me."

Galo snorted, ducking his head against Lio's shoulder.

Lio gave him a look that made the laughter stop, but he didn't stop grinning. "What's so funny?"

"I dunno. Somehow, hearing you say 'fuck' is just really great."

Lio rolled his eyes, barely hiding amusement. "...It doesn't sound right coming from you, either."

Galo laughed again, lightly, tilting his head and planting a kiss on Lio's neck, a sort of acceptance to the invitation. "Might be a little too soon for it. But we can see how it goes."

In truth, sure, part of him wanted to pin Lio to the bed and fuck him until he cried tears of joy, but that was sort of an unrealistic want for now. Galo's own first time taking had been a disaster; maybe he'd been a little too ambitious, or he was with a bad partner, or something along those lines, but it had hurt, and he realized too late that he wasn't prepared enough.

And Lio's slim body looked so delicate - he knew Lio was anything _but_ delicate, but that still didn't mean they needed to rush into anything. In his own way, Galo wanted to care for him in the way he deserved. Lio had a rough life, but he deserved to feel treasured.

...The thought that he would be the one to do it filled him with a weird, fluttery feeling. The same sort of feeling that Lio's fire gave him, when it had protected him. Gentle, soft. Kind of sweet. That was weird.

Lio turned his body and pressed close to Galo's, arms sneaking around him. Galo first looked down at the cut on Lio's shoulder, but it didn't seem to be holding him back at all. It just looked like a small wound on the mend, not actively bleeding.

He could tell Lio got frustrated when his attention drifted; he got a little more pushy, tangling fingers in Galo's wet hair and forcing his chin up to kiss him properly.

"We're not doing this in the bath," Galo laughed.

"Why not?" It sounded almost like a challenge. He liked how warm the water was, so it made sense that Lio would want to stay there. And if Galo had a bigger tub he'd be totally on board for it. Or maybe one of those big bathrooms with the drains in the floor, like in Japan.

"'Cause I don't want to clean up after." Still, he relented, giving Lio the kiss he'd been after (though he was less enthused to receive it now). "Let me get out first, I'll grab you something warm to cover up."

Lio was reluctant to move, but he did, and once Galo had climbed out of the water he sank lower into it, up to his chin. It was cute. Galo would absolutely piss him off if he said so. It looked like he was pouting.

Toweling off quickly was a decent way to force himself not to stare.

His drawer of winter clothing was pretty full compared to the rest of the dresser, so he grabbed the first sweater he could and fished around for some pants again. He'd run out before long, but that was fine; Lio needed the heavy clothing way more than Galo did, and when winter actually came around he'd be able to get some new stuff. Both of them could have some new stuff.

None of his other pants had a drawstring, but he found some with elastic and figured they'd be good enough - no matter how skinny Lio was, if all he did in them was sleep after, it wouldn't matter if his pants slipped out of place a bit. Galo liked to think he was getting better at warming him up, too. Walls were coming down, and Lio was more comfortable beside him. Still tense in some situations, but it was clear he trusted Galo.

He'd gotten out of the bath already, bundled in a towel and shivering as he dried off; the way his body trembled was subtle and stiff because he was trying to hide it. It triggered a sort of inexplicable reflex in Galo that made him want to gather him up and cuddle the heck out of him until he was warm. Lio would fight it like an angry cat, but he still wanted to do it.

Instead, he helped him towel off his hair (which he also reacted to like an angry cat).

Gently, he put a big band-aid on the cut on Lio's shoulder, glad to have found a neon pink one that Lio didn't cringe at as hard as he'd cringed at the firetrucks, and helped him dress though it was entirely unnecessary. He rationalized it thinking that Lio should take it easy, not stretch that injury (but it was truly so small that he was stretching his explanation quite a bit).

"Hurry up, Thymos. I don't need to be pampered so much," Lio snipped at him, frustrated and maybe embarrassed.

"So impatient!" Galo teased, as though he were any better. He knew he could be pretty needy at times. And he certainly knew that Lio would need extra attention after the night he'd had so far. Galo wanted to do right by him. "Alright, let's get cozy!"

He lifted Lio by his hips and carried him propped on one arm over to the bed - _maybe_ showing off just a little, but it made Lio sort-of giggle with surprise so that was totally worth the hair-pulling he did not a second later out of embarrassment. Cute as hell. He dropped onto the bed and set Lio in his lap, leaning back against his chest, figuring that would be the warmest way to do things.

Lio wasn't corpse-cold anymore, more like the temperature of the flipped side of a pillow on a summer night, but Galo wanted him to feel human. With an awkward and sometimes overwhelming sincerity, he wanted to warm more than just his body.

With deliberate, slow movements he gripped Lio's thighs, spreading them apart and giving a squeeze because yeah, those legs were fantastic and covering them in too-big pants was an actual crime. Lio's cheeks were red but he didn't seem that troubled by anything Galo was doing. Maybe a little annoyed? He nuzzled Lio's neck and was _so_ pleased to feel a palm rest on the side of his head, as if encouraging him to be there.

He slid his hand over the crotch of Lio's pants just to feel out where they were starting from. While Lio wasn't quite hard yet, he was getting somewhere.

"You know I'm not interested in your _hands_ tonight, right?"

"Yeah, you made your point." Galo almost laughed again while remembering Lio dropping an f-bomb, but that was hardly appropriate. "You'll get hurt if you rush things though. Let me help you get used to it."

"I don't care if it--"

"Okay, stop there. I care!"

Lio made a sharp "tsk"ing noise and turned his head further from Galo's view.

Galo only grinned, because something about that was cute and he knew better than to say so. Instead of commenting, he grabbed the lube and got a couple fingers wet with it, tugging the waistband of the sleeping pants open wide so it wouldn't smear everywhere when he pushed inside of him. Lio flinched, though it was easy enough to brush that off as how awkward it always felt at first.

Lio was… Cute. He was just _cute_ , and something about him being so eager made Galo think he was especially nervous to try it out, which was also cute as hell. The way he leaned back against Galo in an attempt to relax was kind of sweet, his hair soft against Galo's shoulder. But the problem was, he wasn't relaxing at all, really. There was tension in his limbs, his stomach was tight, and Galo actually had a more difficult time fingering him than he'd had the first time he'd done it.

So they'd just have to keep taking it slowly, even if Lio was being impatient.

At least he'd started warming up. He kissed and nipped at Lio's neck gently, appreciative that Lio tilted his head to make space.

"You can bite, if that's what you want," he offered.

"Nah," Galo had to admit to himself, at least, that he was tempted by the offer. Lio had a pretty neck, pretty skin all over. He'd look pretty with marks, as well. But he wasn't relaxing at all, and Galo could hardly move his fingers without feeling like he might've been hurting him. "What I want--" he took a second to adjust his own legs around Lio to encase him in more body heat, thinking it might help a little "--is for you to _relax_."

To that end, he wrapped his free hand around Lio's erection, getting him to squirm and make a soft gasping noise. Well, that was something. Somewhat of a success. He curled his fingers inside of him for a similar reaction. If all that was motivating Lio to try this was determination to get through it, neither of them would enjoy it, but Galo didn't really know how to articulate that. He wanted to show it instead, prove that it could feel great for both of them rather than treating it like a chore.

"This is… taking too long."

"Yeah, well, too bad. I'm not going to hurt you."

"I thought you were supposed to be impulsive and impatient." There was some truth to that, but he'd never rush into something and hurt anyone but himself. He didn't argue though, just sighed against Lio's hair.

"And I thought you were cautious."

It wasn't as though Lio would ever be easy to pin down - Galo accepted that, and even liked it about him. If he was too predictable, he wouldn't seem as honest as he was.

"Stop," Lio commanded, and Galo's hands immediately retreated, raised to his sides. He'd never gotten a hard stop like that before, but he didn't think Lio meant it like he was actually hurting him or doing something _wrong_ ; maybe he just wasn't in the mood for it anymore. Or maybe he wanted to do it himself - a thought that made Galo's heart thud loudly in his ears (because Lio was hot, okay, it would be _stupidly hot_ if Galo got to watch him).

Lio turned in his lap and pushed him down (also hot), leaning over him with a scowl. "Why are you so reluctant to do this with me?"

"What!" Galo's volume was too high. "Of course I want to!"

"Then _do it_ ," Lio almost growled, tugging at Galo's waistband.

Galo didn't move to stop him, but he wasn't about to help, either. Whatever Lio was so bothered by, he hadn't picked the healthiest way to deal with it, but it wouldn't be fair to judge him for it.

If the mood had been better, it might've been fun to watch Lio tug his pants off and straddle him. Actually, even with the mood sorely lacking, it was a nice sight and he mentally filed that away for a better occasion. "Lio, it's going to hurt--"

"I don't _care_ ," Lio's voice was quieter as he concentrated on positioning himself, trying to push his hips down only to have Galo's dick slip out of place. He made a frustrated noise.

Galo propped himself back up on his elbows and made a face. Lio ignored him and tried again, moderately more successful but he winced and honestly Galo was going soft. "Lio."

"What." The frustration in his voice was rougher, shaken. He sounded like he might cry, but they both knew that wasn't going to happen.

"Cut it out. C'mon," Galo sat up and tugged Lio off of him. "I may not be the brightest guy out there, but I can tell something else is bothering you."

"And I _don't want to think about it_ ," Lio hissed.

"Well this is a bad thing to distract yourself with!"

"Speaking from experience?" His voice was sharp, annoyed.

"...Well, yeah," Galo shrugged. He could tell Lio had meant to say something hurtful, and maybe it stung a little, but he was more or less at peace with his history. Plus, Lio was in a really bad headspace, it kinda made sense that he was lashing out.

Lio flinched, and quietly said "Sorry."

Galo started fixing their clothes. They probably wouldn't sleep anytime soon, but that was fine. He really just wanted to help. "I get that today sucked," He started, trying his best to choose words carefully, "and you don't have to talk it out or anything, I know that doesn't always help. But I wanna help. So let's try something better?"

Lio glanced up at him questioningly.

"We could go to the gym and work up a sweat that way! Or watch some TV." He combed some of Lio's hair back from his face and Lio gave him an odd look, probably unused to simple affectionate gestures like that. When he didn't get a response for a few too many seconds, he kept going, "We'll figure out who did that to you guys. The fire, I mean. And I'll punch them into next week. I've still got your back."

"Idiot," Lio murmured, looking away to hide amusement.

"But maybe for now it's okay to be glad no one was seriously hurt?"

With a heavy sigh, tension ebbed out of Lio's body and he leaned against Galo again. Acceptance. "Alright. I get it." He paused to think about what to say, and sighed again. "I'm never going to be level-headed about the burnish being endangered."

"I get it, too," Galo beamed at him. Lio was amazing like that. Fiercely loyal, always looking out for others even if it killed him.

"I don't want to go anywhere else, but I don't want to sleep yet, either," Lio said, decisive. "I'll read more of that comic, I guess. Or-- you said there was an adaptation?"

If possible, Galo grinned even wider. "Yeah! Wanna watch it?"

"Sure."

Not as enthusiastic as he was hoping, but he could still hope Lio would like it. "Alright, let's get some blankets on the couch and watch it, then! The first season is a little slow."

"...How long is this, exactly?"

Galo chose not to answer.

Lio had calmed, and sat beside him on the couch for a few hours asking questions and making comments about subtitles being annoying (which Galo disagreed with, but Lio brought up a good point when he said it was harder to focus on the art when he had to read the bottom of the screen. He wondered if he maybe needed to re-think his subs versus dubs stance).

After about four episodes, Lio leaned against his shoulder, and he adjusted so that he had an arm around him, giving him extra body heat. Within minutes of that, Lio dozed off, and Galo quietly turned off the television and carried him back to the bed, still bundled in a mountain of blankets. He tried not to wake him but failed - Lio didn't seem to mind, climbing into the bed and getting comfortable at Galo's side.

There was something to be said for how amazing it was to feel confident that Lio would be back the next day and keep watching things with him. That they'd wake up in the morning together and come back at night, he'd never had that. It felt selfish to want to keep it.

He took a deep breath, and his chest felt tight.

"Galo?" It sounded more like an 'are you okay' than an attention-grabber. Galo simply hugged him close and tried to shake it off. When he didn't get a response, Lio murmured, "Thanks."

Was it weird that it made his heart stutter? Maybe. A lot of things about Lio did that, though. He'd gotten so attached. "You should be a firefighter," He blurted out, completely out of the blue, thinking about earlier when Lio had saved that kid but didn't know CPR. It was something he could learn, easy. "We could save people together, y'know?"

He heard a low laughter, and felt chills when Lio said "okay" muffled against his chest.

"Wait, really?" He pulled back to see his face, and Lio wore a tired smile.

"Yeah. You started a fire for me, so I guess it makes sense I should help you put them out. Taking responsibility, whatever that means to you."

In that moment there was an overwhelming amount of things he could've said, most of them kind of silly, out-of-place metaphors about his burning soul, but his heart _ached_ , and he couldn't stop staring at Lio's face. Like a total idiot.

 _Oh_.


End file.
